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New Jersey Devils defeat Carolina Hurricanes 8-4; Series Now 2-1

By Richard Jelinek

NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - MAY 07: Damon Severson #28 of the New Jersey Devils celebrates his goal with teammates Luke Hughes #43 and Jack Hughes #86 during the second period in Game Three of the Second Round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Carolina Hurricanes at Prudential Center on May 07, 2023 in Newark, New Jersey. both Hughes recorded an assist on the goal. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - MAY 07: Damon Severson #28 of the New Jersey Devils celebrates his goal with teammates Luke Hughes #43 and Jack Hughes #86 during the second period in Game Three of the Second Round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Carolina Hurricanes at Prudential Center on May 07, 2023 in Newark, New Jersey. both Hughes recorded an assist on the goal. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
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The offense exploded for the New Jersey Devils, scoring eight goals in a game 3 win against the Carolina Hurricanes. The eight goals are the most they have scored  in the 2023 NHL playoffs. Although the series is now 2-1 in favor of the Carolina Hurricanes, does New Jersey have all of the momentum?

New Jersey Devils inch closer down just 2-1 against Carolina Hurricanes

The goalies were a non issue in this one as pucks were going in left and right. For the Canes, Frederik Andersen and Pyotr Kochetkov teamed up to stop 25 of 31 shots, both allowing three goals a piece. For the Devils, Vitek Vanecek stopped 30 of 34.

Devils Jack Hughes comes up big

New Jersey Devils forward Jack Hughes did not want to go down 3-0 in the series. So he took it upon himself to produce four points  in the 8-4 Devils win. Hughes scored two goals and two assists, his biggest output of the playoffs. Determination and motivation were the keys to the play of Hughes in this game. He was spectacular tonight and this is the Jack Hughes the New Jersey Devils need in the playoffs to advance. His brother, defenseman Luke Hughes, pitched in two assists on the night.

Goaltending on both sides were terrible

The New Jersey Devils and Carolina Hurricanes will need their goaltenders to sharpen their skills in practice before game 4. No goaltender looked good in this one after the combined 12 goal outburst, as the three netminders combined for an 85% save percentage. The total of goals is surprising because the defenses and goaltending were both superior coming into game 3. The offense took over in this one as the goaltenders looked like they could not stop a beach ball in this one.

Can the Devils carry the emotion to game 4?

The crowd at the Prudential center was crazy, loud, and supportive towards the New Jersey Devils, to which the Devils fed off of that. The play of the Devils was noticeably better, the passes were crisper, and the players looked to have more energy. With the scene at game 3 being what the Devils needed, could they play with that same emotion in game 4 like they did in game 3? The New Jersey Devils are in a dogfight with one of the best teams in the regular season and need every ounce of energy they can get. The Devils need another big crowd for game 4 as a big, noisy arena full of fans to continue to be loud in these playoffs. The Devils would like a similar offensive output in front of another big crowd, however, the Canes might not have the same feeling.

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