The second round of the 2022-23 playoffs has come and gone for the Carolina Hurricanes and New Jersey Devils. Carolina came out on top with a four-to-one series win over the Devils. Carolina has reached the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2019. The Devils are a young, extremely fast and skilled team and will surely be back sooner rather than later, but Carolina’s depth and experience pushed them through. Let’s take a look at what went right for Carolina.
Hurricanes Win Second Round in Five Games
Many questions loomed over this series that would have varying weights on the outcome. For the most part, Carolina stepped up and answered those questions. Could Carolina slow down the speedy Devils? Without multiple top-six forwards could Carolina score? How will the goalies do? All of these questions and more had many doubting the Hurricanes.
Carolina started off firing in games one and two by silencing doubters in almost every way. They played Rod Brind’Amour‘s system about as well as you could. The Devils had no time and space to stretch the play and utilize their speed. Meanwhile, Carolina got production from everywhere. In the moments when the Devils had the edge in play, Frederik Andersen was shutting the door in net.
Game three was a different story. The Devils flew out of the gate at home and won in a somewhat wild eight-to-four victory. New Jersey’s stars showed up and produced. The Devils did to Carolina what Carolina did to them the previous two games. Carolina did score three shorthanded goals and four total, but New Jersey’s eight goals proved just too much. Game four ended much like games one and two with a lopsided Carolina win. The Devils came out flying first, scoring the first goal and driving the play for the first ten minutes. But Martin Necas tied the game late in the first period. Ater that the Hurricanes found their game while the Devils seemed to get off theirs.
Game five in Raleigh was the tightest game (or maybe the only tight game) of this series. It was back and forth all game as to who was dominating the play. Even though they were playing well, Carolina failed to finish many close chances they had early. Dawson Mercer then made an excellent play for New Jersey. He flew down the ice and finished a back door feed to put the Devils up one. Carolina would tie it early in the second period on a point shot from Jaccob Slavin. But they would see that tie break again after Timo Meier scored a power play goal. Brent Burns then found the back of the net at the end of the second period to bring the game back to a tie.
After a scoreless third period, the game went into overtime. After Jonas Siegenthaler received a delay of game penalty for sending the puck out of play, Jesper Fast tipped in a Jesperi Kotkaniemi shot on the power play to send the Hurricanes to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Hurricane’s Experience Shows in Second Round
If you were to oversimplify what made the difference in this series, you could look at Carolina’s experience compared to New Jersey’s. This is the fifth year in a row that the Hurricanes have made the playoffs. They have made it past the first round in each of those years (except the bubble year depending on how you look at that). Their latest monkey on the back was making it back to the Eastern Conference Finals. Meanwhile, New Jersey made the playoffs for the first time since 2018 and are largely comprised of a young, up and coming team. The Devils showed a lot of resiliency throughout the playoffs and put together an impressive first round series win over the New York Rangers.
However, the Hurricanes experience showed in this series. In game one the question was which was better, the Hurricanes having more rest from an earlier round one exit or New Jersey getting right back into action after going seven games with New York? Both teams’ coaches seemed to have thought the latter. And both turned to be wrong.
For a lot of teams, the extra days off can prove problematic due to getting out of the playoff pace. But the Hurricanes experience was a factor here. They got right back to their game, playing one of their best games of all season in game one. At various times throughout this season the Hurricanes looked like they could break, but for the most part they did not. The Devils score a goal first, they got right back to their game. They lose an ugly game three, and turn around for a blowout win in game four.
Even breaking the inability to lose away games from last year, combined with continued success at home shows the growth this team has experienced. In these playoffs the Hurricanes are five and one at home. They are also 22 and nine over the last five playoffs at home. To keep that record in a playoffs seeing most teams losing at home, and break the losing record on the road, shows experience coming through.
Trusting the System
Once again, Carolina’s system shows its effectives. It has talked about before but cannot be ignored after this second round series win. For a team that dominated xG% and expected goals differential during the regular season but struggled in goals scored above expected, they are showing the strength of their system. They were able to largely neutralize the Devils speed by going hard on the forecheck, playing tight man to man defence, and winning board battles. With notable forwards Andrei Svechnikov and Teuvo Teravainen out, the team needed to find its scoring to have any success in this series. Give credit to the team and coaching staff as they stuck to their game and everyone was on board. It was a top to bottom team effort where each player was taking care of their responsibilities to contribute. This included scoring contribution from everywhere.
In tune with the Hurricanes system, their impressive penalty kill was also a difference maker in this series. While they ideally would like to see a little more on the power play, it did produce some. But it was their penalty kill that really locked down any advantage the Devils could grab whenever Carolina was also driving five on five play. The fact that they have scored more on their penalty kill than they have given up in the playoffs right now is especially impressive.
Coaching is such a game in itself and Brind’Amour has learned this. In overtime of game five, Carolina sent out its second power play unit instead of its first. They could have called a timeout and put the top unit out there but Brind’Amour knew his team and went with his gut. And it paid off. To create a story that could go in a book, it was Fast on the second power play unit that ended the game. This is noteworthy after his whiff on an open net during their power play in the first period and the fact that Fast did not start the series on the power play at all. Carolina truly embraced the next man up mantra and trusted their system to win this series.
Unlikely Heros in the Hurricanes Second Round
When you look at Carolina, there really is not one individual that stands largely above the rest as far as taking over the series. The goalies have been great, especially when needed. Andersen has let in two or less goals in five out of the six playoff games he has played. But the team game has been strong so it is not like there are many games where they should have lost and won because of goaltending. But even in all that, there are some interesting individual stories from this series.
Notably, after a pointless first round, Jordan Martinook seemingly rose from the dead and absolutely exploded in round two. As a gritty energy type player, he is not known to be a major point producer. However, he put in three goals and added seven assists to give him ten points in the second round. As of May 12, he leads all players in the second round of the playoffs in points and assists. He tied the franchise record for points in a series and broke the franchise record with four consecutive multi-point games. This all comes after he was waived early in the season and no one claimed him. What a crazy game hockey is.
What is interesting about Martinook is he is not really doing anything much differently than he did in the first round. Or all year. He seems to be the heart of the team and plays a high energy game. You could really see that this round as he was noticeably flying around the ice and hitting everything that moved. The fact that the Hurricanes as a team exploded with 18 goals this round probably helps his stats, but regardless he was doing what he needed to.
Even when the rest of the team seemed to slow down, Martinook still brought energy. And it’s not like his goals were just gritty rebounds. He scored a penalty shot on a nice backhand and scored off the rush by picking the near post corner as well. You see unlikely heros step up in the playoffs from time to time. It can be a major difference maker. While there were questions who would produce for the Hurricanes after the trade deadline and Svechnikov’s injury, for this round it was the unlikely hero in Martinook that stepped to the plate.
Defence Wins Championships
There is an old saying the “defence wins championships.” Carolina’s system and team follow that as much as anyone. Their team is built around solid defensive play and carried through in this series. During the regular season they were second in the league in goals against and led the league in lowest expected goals against. For all teams left in the playoffs, they are tied with the Las Vegas Golden Knights for lowest goals against.
Much has been said about their system and style of play that suffocates other team’s offenses. But the Hurricanes defense also is not afraid to jump into the play and chip in scoring. They led the league in goals scored by defencmen this year. During the first round the defencemen did not produce at a similar level. However, in round two they picked it back up. Each of Jaccob Slavin, Brett Pesce and Brent Burns have two goals while Brady Skjei has one.
While the acquisition of Shayne Gotisbehere really rounded out the top six defencemen for the Hurricanes, the top pairing of Burns and Slavin have especially been good. Slavin and Burns both scored pivotal goals in game five. Burns is third out of all defencemen in the playoffs with 1.8 expected goals. Slavin is tied for the lead of all playoff defencemen in on-ice goal differential with Toronto Maple Leafs Morgan Rielly and Dallas Stars Miro Heiskenan. Burns is next on that list. And while it is a somewhat flawed stat, Slavin’s plus minus has put him in with some elite company as leads the playoffs at a plus 14.
Carolina Hurricanes Top Defensive Pairing
For Hurricanes fans, it is not a surprise to see what Burns and Slavin have done together. Burns seems to have that x factor. A big presence on the back end who seems ageless. At age 38, Burns continues to move up and down the ice with confidence. He has a knack for getting booming shots through from the point and has an ability to dangle his way to the net as well. As was seen in his play in game five, he also is not afraid to use his body.
Meanwhile, Slavin is possibly one of the best defensive defencemen in the league. He is not the most physical but his gap control and stick work is elite. While you have to be careful with comparisons, Slavin shows many traits similar to that of elite defenceman Nicklas Lidstrom. Not only can Slavin break up a play but he can transition the puck up ice quickly with ease. He will make anyone he plays with look better.
One example to look at from this series to show Slavin’s elite play is from game five. While down one and with New Jersey driving the play, the Devils Michael McLeod made a move that almost led to a breakaway. Had he achieved that, it may have been two to zero New Jersey and we would have a different story. Instead, Slavin made an excellent play to use his stick to break up the play and quickly transition the puck up to Martinook. Martinook would go on the rush with Martin Necas and feed him for the tying goal. After that, it was all Carolina. You can almost track the trajectory of that game back to Slavin.
What to Look Forward To
For the Devils, this is a heartbreaking loss after a truly impressive season. They more than exceeded expectations during the regular season as they finished only one point behind Carolina to win the Metropolitan Division. They then exceeded most people’s expectations by beating the Rangers in the first round. In the second round they just met a more experienced team and their goaltending seemed to take a step back.
They are a young team and have an impressive core in Jack Hughes, Dawson Mercer, Dougie Hamilton, etc. You factor in the impressive play of Luke Hughes and the incoming of Simon Nemec and this is a team that will be making noise for many years. If they can find consistent goaltending they could really go far. There will also be notable pending free agents they will need to re-sign including Timo Meier.
For Carolina, this is a win that gives the team and fans something to be excited about. At the beginning of the year, expectations for Carolina were high. But at the start of the playoffs with significant injuries, most thought they would struggle. Even after solving Ilya Sorokin and the New York Islanders, many thought they would not be able to hang with New Jersey’s speed. But their experience, trust in the system and depth shined.
Hockey is a funny game like that. It was Fast who whiffed on a shot in game five that could have put the Hurricanes up one to zero and he ultimately became the hero of the game. Had Meirer scored on a wide open back door opportunity the game may not have even reached overtime. As the Hurricanes await the winner of Toronto and the Florida Panthers, they will use this opportunity to rest and reset. With some of the odds against them at times, sometimes it is adversity that pulls together a team to rise above the challenges. Much credit has to be given to the team and coaching staff here.
Main Photo: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports
