The New Jersey Devils had a much-needed break this week, but during that time, the Carolina Hurricanes and Washington Capitals passed them in the Metropolitan Division standings.
The Devils will try to regain their share of the division lead and stop the Hurricanes’ momentum when the teams face off Thursday night in Newark, N.J.
New Jersey hasn’t played since Saturday, when they lost 4-0 to the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Hurricanes, on the other hand, will be finishing a back-to-back road trip after a 4-1 win against the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday, with three goals scored in the third period.
The first part of the season has gone well for the Devils, who have a record of 12-7-2 under new head coach Sheldon Keefe. However, with the busy schedule, New Jersey is trying to catch up to the Hurricanes and Capitals, who each have three games in hand.
The Capitals passed the Devils on Monday after beating the Utah Hockey Club 6-2. Then, Carolina moved into first place on Wednesday.
Keefe is hopeful that the break will help refresh the Devils, who are one point ahead of the fourth-place New York Rangers. However, the Rangers have four games in hand.
“The demands of the schedule in the first 20 games have been a lot for us, and the pace has been more demanding than most of the league,” Keefe said after practice on Tuesday. “Now we have a chance to take a breath.”
The Hurricanes have been tough to beat during their three-game winning streak, outscoring the Flyers, Ottawa Senators, and St. Louis Blues 12-2 in total.
Carolina got off to a fast start on Wednesday, with Jalen Chatfield scoring just 30 seconds into the game. However, they didn’t score again until Sebastian Aho netted the game-winning goal just over a minute into the third period.
“The key is restarting every night. Even (Thursday), we’ve got to take what we can learn from this game, the good and the bad, and get right back at it,” Chatfield said. “We can’t focus on the past, ever, and we know we have an experienced group, a lot of good leaders, and we try to bring it every night. Some nights don’t start well, but we always find our game, and once we do, we’re fine.”
After Aho’s goal, Jordan Staal and Jack Roslovic scored within 55 seconds of each other to secure the victory. The Hurricanes outshot the Flyers 20-15 in the first two periods and then had a 17-4 shot advantage in the third.
“I liked how we responded in the third period,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said after the win. “The game was there, and we needed to make a statement. I didn’t like the first two periods, but overall, it was a good team effort in the third.”
Carolina has scored 72 goals this season, which ties them for second in the Eastern Conference. They have scored at least four goals in 12 of their last 13 games, with an 11-2-0 record in that stretch.
