Recap: Canes Drop Fourth Straight With Loss To Devils

RALEIGH, NC. -The Carolina Hurricanes suffered their fourth consecutive loss Tuesday, coming out on the wrong end of a 5-3 score against the New Jersey Devils.

The Story

Entering having dropped three results in a row for the first time since mid-November, the Canes turned to Pyotr Kochetkov in net to try and turn their fortune.
After having Saturday in Columbus off, the 23-year-old rookie would be able to work with the game's first lead of the night.
With Jordan Staal in the box for Carolina, Martin Necas was able to pull off a must-see faceoff win, setting up Jesperi Kotkaniemi with space in the slot for the team's fourth shorthanded goal of the season.

Unfortunately, the night's first lead would last just 4:03, as New Jersey was able to squeak one by Kochetkov before the end of the first.
Entering the middle 20 minutes tied, it looked as if the Canes were primed to take control of the contest. Holding New Jersey to just two shots in the first 10 minutes of the frame, the Canes were able to take a two-goal lead courtesy of Max Pacioretty and Sebastian Aho.
Pacioretty's first tally in front of the home crowd came after his shot was initially deflected wide, but he was able to locate the rebound and place an attempted centering feed for Seth Jarvis. The puck hopped off of the Devils defender covering Jarvis in front and past Vitek Vanecek, giving Carolina their lead back.
Then, inside the final three minutes of the second, Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen connected on a two-on-one for the team's second shorthanded goal of the night.

Up 3-1 with 2:26 to go in the period, it looked as if Carolina was comfortably in the driver's seat.
However, in the blink of an eye, or rather just 18 seconds of game time, New Jersey struck twice to even the game.
Completely wiping away the home team's momentum, the visitors then completed their come-from-behind effort in the third. A second goal of the evening for Dawson Mercer made it 4-3, serving as the game-winner. Nico Hischier would add a game-winner to round out the scoring.

They Said It

Rod Brind'Amourproviding his thoughts on the game...
"That last minute [of the second period] killed us. There's no doubt about it and then we didn't respond in the third. It was a great two periods, playing a really good team. We just didn't get anything out of it. We knew they were going to have a period where they come and play and they did in the third. We didn't do enough. I don't know if we even had a really good scoring chance in the third. We didn't get enough out of the first two periods where we played really, really well."
Jordan Staalon the team's current four-game skid...
"It's not great. It's frustrating. I hope this group doesn't think they're better than they are and we have to come back with a better, grittier effort. We have to get back to the way that we want to play and the way we want to do things around here."
Sebastian Ahooffering his thoughts on why the contests between the Canes and Devils have been so tightly contested this season...
"I think it's two good teams out there. They use their momentum pretty well. I think we controlled the game pretty well until their second and third goals. But we needed a better response in the third."

Bonus Notes

• The Canes move to 25-9-7 with the defeat.
• Pyotr Kochetkov allowed four goals on 22 shots. It is the first time in his NHL career that he has lost three games in a row in regulation.
• Stefan Noesen returned to the lineup after missing two games due to a lower-body injury. Derek Stepan was the healthy scratch to make room for Noesen's return.

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What's Next?

The Canes are set to practice on Wednesday before traveling to Columbus, taking on the Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena for the second time in six days.
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