Hurricanes rally past Devils, sit alone in first in Metropolitan

NEWARK, N.J. --Seth Jarvis scored 1:39 into overtime for the Carolina Hurricanes, who moved into sole possession of first place in the Metropolitan Division with a 3-2 win against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on Saturday.

"I was a little scared because I thought the goalie saved it, but once I saw the ref point and [Tony DeAngelo's] celebration, I was pumped," Jarvis said. "That's a really cool feeling."
Jarvis took a pass from DeAngelo and scored on a wrist shot from the right face-off circle on a 3-on-1 to complete the comeback for the Hurricanes, who were down 2-0 with less than five minutes remaining.
"We always think we have a chance to win it, [Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour] preaches that and our leadership group come behind us and really helps us out," Jarvis said. "Especially when you're down two with five minutes left ... it's a little bit tough. But to be able to come back like that just says a lot about our team, about our group inside the locker."

Pyotr Kochetkov made 17 saves in his NHL debut for Carolina (51-20-8), which has won three straight.
The Hurricanes are two points ahead of the New York Rangers for first in the division. New York lost 3-1 at the Boston Bruins on Saturday.
"I think you come out at the start of season, and you say, 'We want to be the best,'" Brind'Amour said. "So that's still the goal."
Yegor Sharangovich had a goal and an assist, and Jon Gillies made 26 saves in his first start since March 31 for the Devils (27-43-8), who are 3-2-2 in their past seven games.
"I thought we had a couple of good opportunities, but we knew we were going to have to play a tight game," New Jersey coach Lindy Ruff said. "We couldn't trade chances with them. I thought we had them where we could beat them."
Brady Skjei scored with 4:36 remaining in the third to cut it to 2-1 on a shot from the left face-off circle that deflected off the left leg of Devils defenseman Kevin Bahl.
"That's kind of what we're taught as a team (to get pucks on net)," Skjei said. "As defensemen, we want to get as many pucks to the net as we can, even if it's not on net. You never know what'll happen, if it goes off the leg or someone tips it."

Nino Niederreiter tied it 2-2 with 1:56 left, scoring on a rebound in front with Kochetkov pulled for the extra skater.
Sharangovich scored a power-play goal off a deflection in front to give New Jersey a 1-0 lead at 15:43 of the first period.
Nico Hischier scored on a snap shot from the left face-off circle for a 2-0 lead at 8:30 of the third period.
"We played a solid game and didn't give them much but at the end, they are a good team," Hischier said. "They were pushing to the end; we could learn from that. We can't panic. We're going to have to play smart."

Kochetkov stopped Jesper Boqvist on a breakaway 9:20 into the third to keep the Hurricanes within 2-0.
"The locker room was electric (after the game)," Jarvis said. "[Kochetkov is] funny because he doesn't quite speak English. So for him, it's awesome. We made him do a speech, and he kind of muttered out, 'Thanks'. You can just tell how excited he was just by his huge smile."
Jarvis said the Hurricanes have the potential for a long run in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
"I think all our lines bring something different, but the main thing is, we all bring energy," he said. "We all bring speed and then our defensemen are elite ... all of them. So, that's kind of a recipe for a long run."
NOTES: Skjei established an NHL career high in goals (nine) in his seventh season. He had eight with the Rangers in 2018-19 and 2019-20. ... Boqvist had an assist to extend his NHL career-high point streak to four games (three goals, one assist). ... Forward Nolan Foote played 5:10 in his third game this season for the Devils, and first since Jan. 8. … The Devils were 0-for-29 on the power play in their previous 11 games. … DeAngelo set the Hurricanes record for assists by a defenseman in a single season (41). … Kochetkov became the fourth goalie to win his NHL debut with the Hurricanes/Hartford Whalers and first since David Ayres (Feb. 22, 2020).