Hurricanes score 3 in 3rd, surge past Devils

NEWARK, N.J. -- Teuvo Teravainen had a goal and two assists for the Carolina Hurricanes in a 4-2 win against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on Saturday.

Evgeny Kuznetsov, acquired in a trade with the Washington Capitals on Friday, finished with two shots in 13:00 of ice time in his debut for the Hurricanes, his first game since Jan. 27. The 31-year-old forward entered the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program on Feb. 5 before being cleared to resume practicing March 2.

"I haven't skated for like 50 days, something like that, but in this situation, I didn't need any motivation," Kuznetsov said. "There was a lot of energy, a lot of motivation, the legs were there, the head was there. I just had to combine them together because I've been out of hockey for a little while.

"I felt very comfortable inside of the team, the guys were very supportive, the coaches ... everything was good."

Martin Necas, Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Andrei Svechnikov scored, and Pyotr Kochetkov made 23 saves for the Hurricanes (38-19-6), who are 8-2-1 in their past 11 games.

"I thought a real difference in the game was our penalty kill," Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "I thought there was a chance there when they got the 4-on-3 (in the third period) for a minute-and-a-half, and I don't know if they really got a real good look. When they did, Kochetkov made the saves, so that was probably the game."

The Hurricanes finished 4-for-4 on the penalty kill, allowing just one shot on goal.

Nico Hischier and Timo Meier scored, and Nico Daws made 22 saves for the Devils (31-29-4), who have lost four of five.

"It's one of those tight-knit games where a mistake is going to be the difference," Daws said.

Necas gave Carolina a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal at 12:28 of the first period, scoring on a one-timer from the point through a screen after a pass by Teravainen from the outside of the right face-off circle.

Hischier tied it 1-1 at 15:27 of the second period on snap shot from the high slot off a turnover, beating Kochetkov just inside the right post.

"It was a good game," said Hischier, the New Jersey captain. "Sometimes we have to take the positives out of here. I think we didn't play a bad game so we move on from here."

Kotkaniemi gave Carolina a 2-1 lead at 2:50 of the third period on a snap shot from a sharp angle deep in the left wing corner, scoring on shot that flew over Daws' right shoulder and hit the far post before bouncing off Daws' back and into the net.

"It was nice to get a goal and nice for the boys to get the win," Kotkaniemi said. "To share Kuznetsov's first time on the same line (Kotkaniemi-Kuznetsov-Jesper Fast) was pretty special. To get a couple shifts with a guy like that was great."

Daws said, "There's different ways to play that shot. I'd like to play it down and kind of get your head in front of it and I could stand up. I just got caught in between and just couldn't get there."

Kochetkov made 12 saves in the third, including a right pad stop against Meier during a Hurricanes line change at 7:08.

"We were OK defensively," Brind'Amour said. "Obviously you have a dynamic team over there with so much talent, so I guess when you're shutting that team down, that's pretty impressive. At the end of the day, for the most part, we did hunker down pretty well."

Svechnikov scored an empty-net goal at 18:49 for a 3-1 lead.

Meier scored at 19:48 to pull the Devils within 3-2 with Daws pulled for the extra attacker, but Teravainen scored an empty-net goal four seconds later for the 4-2 final.

"I thought it took us a little bit in the first period to get up and running the way we needed to against this team," New Jersey coach Travis Green said. "Definitely, the last two periods, we played pretty good hockey. When you play Carolina, it's going to be a game that looks like you're in a matchbox. It's exactly what it was. It came down to a shot here, a shot there."

NOTES: Teravainen has eight points (three goals, five assists) in an eight-game point streak. ... Jack Hughes assisted on Hischier's goal to become the fourth player in Devils/Colorado Rockies/Kansas City Scouts history to have multiple 40-assist seasons before age 23. He joins Kirk Muller (three times), Scott Gomez (two) and Wilf Paiement (two). ... Hughes has 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in his past seven games. ... Meier extended his goal streak to five games (seven goals). ... Hischier has nine points (two goals, seven assists) in his past six games.