How Game 3 will be won: Keys for Hurricanes, Devils
The Carolina Hurricanes dominated the New Jersey Devils to earn a 2-0 lead in their series in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Based on the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Devils obviously have them right where they want them.
The Devils lost the first two games against the New York Rangers and rallied to win their series in seven games. If they’re going to do it again, there needs to be several reversals of fortune after Games 1 and 2.
“We’ve got to flush it and move on,” Devils winger Miles Wood said. “We’ve been here before, especially in the first round against a great team, and we came back and won. So they haven’t seen our best yet.”
For the Hurricanes, the series could be theirs to close out if they continue to excel in a few areas.
Here are the keys to Game 3. Advanced stats are courtesy of Stathletes.
How the Devils can rally
Reclaim the hustle
To say Nico Hischier was unsatisfied with his team’s effort in the first two games against Carolina would be an understatement.
“We should be really pissed off right now,” said the Devils captain after Game 2.
What frustrated him most? That a team that dug in and grinded out a series win against their archrivals didn’t have a fragment of that hustle, especially compared to the Hurricanes.
“It’s frustrating for sure. We’ve got to battle harder. I think we have lots of skill here, but skill doesn’t mean anything in the playoffs,” Hischier said.
It was no secret that the Devils were in for a different fight against the Hurricanes than they had against the Rangers. They went from being the hunter, shutting down New York’s offensive stars, to the hunted, as the Hurricanes did the same to them.
It takes a different kind of energy to fight through that.
“Right now, at 5-on-5, they’re the better team,” coach Lindy Ruff said. “We’ve got to win more battles. We have to be more determined. The way we change this series is improve our 5-on-5 play, improve some of the execution with the puck.”
Goaltending boost
Based on all the available evidence from Games 1 and 2, as well as Saturday’s practice, it should be veteran Vitek Vanecek getting the start for Game 3 over rookie Akira Schmid. Which is some wacky playoff symmetry, considering that Schmid replaced Vanecek in Game 3 against the Rangers, after the Devils lost two games by a combined score of 10-2 at home.
This time, the Devils are expected to make a goalie change after getting outscored 11-2 on the road.
The losses in Raleigh weren’t on Schmid … but he also didn’t do enough to mitigate the damage. He wasn’t that sharp in Game 2, including a chaotic sequence at the end of the second period that led to the Hurricanes’ fourth goal by Martin Necas.
“You can’t play like we did at the end of the second period where you just hand them opportunities,” Ruff said.
Vanecek has seen time in both games against Carolina. He was 2-1-0 against them in the regular season, with a .918 save percentage and a 2.25 goals-against average — including a shutout on March 12 at home.
Full marks to Schmid, whose poise helped the Devils to their first playoff series win since 2012. But he should pass the baton in Game 3 back to Vanecek, who will try to orchestrate his own rally.
Find confidence offensively
Ruff said his team “lost its patience” in the second period of Game 2, leading to four Carolina goals that basically sealed its fate.
“I thought when we started the game really good, as the game went on, we got frustrated. We made some poor decisions with the puck. We gave the puck away,” he said.
Nothing is coming easy for the Devils offensively. They’ve been unable to use their speed to create chances. The chances they do create haven’t been clean looks: 66% of the shot attempts they’ve had against Carolina have been through traffic, compared to 55% against the Rangers.
Ruff is expected to shake up his lines for Game 3. Toward the end of Game 2, Jack Hughes and Ondrej Palat played with Timo Meier — still seeking his first point of the playoffs. At practice on Saturday, Dawson Mercer drew in for Palat, who skated with Hischier and Jesper Bratt, who has one point in his past five games.
Getting their defensemen more involved in the attack is essential. To that end, rookie Luke Hughes is replacing the injured Ryan Graves. It’s the 19-year-old’s third NHL game, but he has the kind of puck-moving creativity the team really needs right now.
They have to do something to recapture their swagger offensively, or else this is going to be a short series.
How the Hurricanes can finish the Devils
Keep defensive zone Devil-free
One reason the Devils’ best players have been unable to get rolling in the offensive zone is because they’ve spent such little time there.
In Games 3 through 7 against the Rangers, the Devils averaged 25:01 of offensive zone time per game. In the first two games against the Hurricanes, that’s dropped to 21:33. The Rangers would allow the Devils to gain speed through the neutral zone to set up chances in the attacking zone. Against Carolina, the neutral zone has become the biggest swamp the Devils have experienced since leaving the Meadowlands. New Jersey is spending 12:14 on average in the first two games in the neutral zone; against the Rangers from Games 3 through 7, they spent 11:07 there.
When they do gain the attacking zone, the Hurricanes are doing a great job of making chances one and done. There are opportunities: 25% of the Devils’ 57 shot attempts on average create rebounds. But New Jersey only had three shots off of rebounds in Game 1 and two of them in Game 2.
Carolina knows that the more time it makes the Devils spend defending, the less time its offensive stars have to shine in the other zone.
“If you can get in first on the forecheck and just get keep pucks in there, we can try and ground them down,” said Hurricanes forward Jordan Martinook. “We know how skilled this team is. If we’re one and done and they’re getting out clean, then you’re chasing them on the way back. It’s a key for us to play down there as much as we can.”
Ironically, the Devils’ best offensive players are hearing the same criticisms that the Rangers’ stars heard in the previous round. In both cases, it inevitably tracks back to the exemplary job their opponents are doing defensively.
Continue special team dominance
The Hurricanes only have one power-play goal in the first two games of the series, but it was a critical one: Jesperi Kotkaniemi opened the scoring in the second period of Game 2, giving the Hurricanes a lead they would never surrender. Sometimes, it’s not how many you score but when you score them. Or, in the Devils’ case, when you don’t.
The Hurricanes were the second-best penalty-killing team in the regular season (84.4%), and the Devils knew that better than anyone. The power play was 0-for-13 against Carolina with four short-handed goals against. Already in this series, their penalty kill is 5-for-5. The Devils had early first-period power plays in both games, came up empty and were unable to build any momentum. That was especially true in Game 2, when they had a 5-on-3 power play and couldn’t convert.
The Devils are undoubtedly going to switch up tactics and personnel — Luke Hughes was seeing time with the first unit in practice — and associate coach Andrew Brunette is a crafty power-play architect. Given how they’ve struggled at 5-on-5, it’s imperative for the Hurricanes to continue giving them nothing with a man advantage.
Let Freddie do the rest
Quietly, Frederik Andersen is becoming one of the stories of the playoffs. He returned to the lineup in Game 6 against the Islanders, after an illness and a minor injury. Andersen has allowed only one goal in each of his three postseason games, looking very steady between the pipes for Carolina.
“Freddie was there all night. There was never really a time when he wasn’t having to make some saves. That was a difference, for sure,” coach Rod Brind’Amour said after Game 2.
As the Devils sort out their goaltending, the Hurricanes are playing well in front of Andersen and he’s doing the rest. Stability is vital in a playoff series. So far, the Hurricanes look practically unbothered by their opponents.
The Dallas Stars and Winnipeg Jets began their second-round showdown a bit behind the other series, which is why they’re the last teams to play their respective Game 3. That matchup is set to transpire Sunday afternoon (4:30 p.m. ET, TBS), followed by a game no less important between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers at a more traditional time (7:30 p.m. ET, TBS).
Which of the two Central teams will go up 2-1? And can the Panthers tie things up with the Leafs after Brad Marchand‘s OT heroics in Game 3?
Read on for game previews with statistical insights from ESPN Research, a recap of what went down in Saturday’s games and the Three Stars of Saturday from Arda Öcal.
Matchup notes
Winnipeg Jets at Dallas Stars
Game 3 | 4:30 p.m. ET | TBS
With each team taking one game of the series in Winnipeg, ESPN BET has updated the series odds heading into Game 3 in Dallas; the Stars are currently favored (-170) to win the series, with the Jets at +140 to advance. The Stars have the second-shortest odds to win the Stanley Cup (+400), while the Jets’ are third-longest (+900).
With his 22-save shutout in Game 2, Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck earned postseason blanking No. 4 of his career. He became the sixth goaltender in NHL history to account for the first four playoff shutouts in a franchise’s history.
Nikolaj Ehlers has run hot and cold as a playoff goal scorer for the Jets; he scored two in Game 2, which was his second career multigoal postseason game. In between this one and the one prior, he went 14 playoff games with zero goals.
Mikko Rantanen‘s streak of five straight multipoint playoff games ended in Game 2, as he registered one shot on goal for Dallas and a minus-1 rating in 21:42 of ice time. He’s currently tied with Toronto’s William Nylander for the playoff scoring lead, with 15 points, and is first among goal scorers, with eight.
Game 2 was the second time the Stars have been shut out this postseason. The first was Game 4 in the first round, at Colorado. The next game? A home win, in which they scored six goals.
Toronto Maple Leafs at Florida Panthers
Game 4 | 7:30 p.m. ET | TBS
After the Panthers won a thriller in Game 3, ESPN BET has the Leafs at -125 to win the series, with the Panthers at +105. Both teams are right in the middle of the Cup futures mix, with the Panthers slightly ahead; Florida is +550 and Toronto is +600.
With his overtime game winner in Game 3, the Panthers’ Brad Marchand extended his own NHL record for consecutive postseasons with a game-winning goal, a streak that goes back to 2017. Marchand’s four career playoff OT goals is seventh all time.
Have we seen the real version of “Playoff Bob” yet? Sergei Bobrovsky is sixth among eight regular goaltenders that made Round 2 with a 2.94 goals-against average, and sixth in the same cohort with a .875 save percentage. Those rates were 2.33 and .906, respectively, during the Panthers’ Stanley Cup run last year.
Maple Leafs center John Tavares scored two goals in Game 3, which was his fourth career multigoal playoff game and second in his career against the Panthers; the previous multigoal game against Florida was in 2016 while Tavares was with the New York Islanders.
With each goal that Morgan Rielly scores, he extends his franchise lead for playoff goals by a defenseman. Rielly now has 15 for his career, ahead of second-place Ian Turnbull with 13.
Öcal’s Three Stars from Saturday
1. The final seconds
We saw it again on Saturday night. You never know what’s going to happen in a Stanley Cup playoff game — even a Leon Draisaitl own goal with one second left in a game that was headed for overtime.
Smith scored two goals — one of which was the game winner that deflected off Draisaitl’s stick — in Vegas’ 4-3 win. He and Nicolas Roy scored 54 seconds apart in the first period to even the score at 2-2, which marked the fastest Vegas has overcome a multigoal deficit in franchise playoff history.
Roslovic finished with two points, including his third career postseason goal as the Canes dismantled the Caps 4-0 to take a 2-1 series lead.
Saturday’s recaps
Carolina Hurricanes 4, Washington Capitals 0
CAR leads 2-1 | Game 4 Monday
Following a scoreless first period with a few superb scoring chances for both teams, the Hurricanes got on the board twice in the second, courtesy of Andrei Svechnikov and Jack Roslovic. That was all the Canes needed, as their relentless defensive pressure in all three zones prevented the Caps from mounting much of an attack in the third. Eric Robinson added a shot that somehow found its way over Logan Thompson‘s left shoulder and Jackson Blake closed things out with a power-play tally. But this night was all about Frederik Andersen earning his fourth career shutout (and first with the Canes). Full recap.
0:38
Eric Robinson gives the Canes a 3-0 lead
Hurricanes fans erupt as Eric Robinson gives Carolina a 3-0 lead with a sweet goal in the third period vs. Washington.
Golden Knights 4, Oilers 3
EDM leads 2-1 | Game 4 Monday
Finally, the Golden Knights are on the board — and it took until the very last moment for them to pull off the stunning win in Edmonton. Savvy Oilers veteran Corey Perry scored two to put the hosts ahead 2-0 in the first. Undeterred, the Knights scored two before the period ended to tie the contest. William Karlsson‘s second-period score put Vegas ahead 3-2, a lead that held until 16:58 of the third, when Connor McDavid tied it at 3. Then, in the very final second of regulation, Reilly Smith slid a sharp-angle shot into the Edmonton crease, where it was tipped in by Oilers center Leon Draisaitl. Game, Vegas. Full recap.
1:07
Golden Knights stun Oilers with Reilly Smith’s buzzer-beating goal
Reilly Smith scores a miraculous goal for the Golden Knights with 0.4 remaining to give them the win.
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Mike Trout intends to resume running next week as the Los Angeles Angels slugger ramps up his recovery from a bone bruise in his left knee.
The 33-year-old Trout confirmed Saturday that he won’t be back in the Halos’ lineup when he is immediately eligible to come off the injured list Sunday, but the three-time AL MVP remains confident he won’t miss an extended period of time with his latest injury.
Trout swung a bat in the cage for the third straight day, and he hopes to test his knee with some running when the Angels travel for a series in San Diego to begin next week, calling it “a good possibility.”
“It’s been great,” Trout said. “I was worried in the beginning, but the sharpness [of pain] I was feeling after that day in Seattle is gone.”
Trout hasn’t played since April 30, when he left the game against the Mariners with knee soreness which was eventually diagnosed as a bone bruise. He had two operations last year on the knee after tearing his meniscus.
After playing in all of the Angels’ first 29 games this season, Trout missed his ninth consecutive game Saturday night when Los Angeles hosted the Baltimore Orioles.
Trout has missed 387 of the Angels’ 646 games — almost 60% — since May 17, 2021, when he tore his calf muscle and was sidelined for the rest of that season.
He missed five weeks of the 2022 season with a back injury, and he missed half of the 2023 season after his hand was broken by a pitch. He missed all but 29 games last season, not even making it out of April healthy.
Trout’s current injury does not appear to be anywhere close to season-ending — and for a superstar whose ascent has been derailed by five years of injuries, that’s a huge relief.
“I don’t have a day [for a return], but I feel great,” Trout said. “I feel good. Talking to the doctors, it’s kind of like a scab kind of thing. We’re just adding exercises each and every day, and [continuing] if it’s feeling good … but [there’s] no soreness, so we’ll keep progressing like that.”
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