Hurricanes defeat Devils, end skid

NEWARK, N.J. -- Carolina Hurricanes coach Bill Peters knows winning might be the only remedy for a rather quiet dressing room the past two days following the NHL Trade Deadline.
The Hurricanes certainly felt good about themselves Tuesday when Joakim Nordstrom scored with 1:29 remaining to help end a three-game losing streak in a 3-1 victory against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center.

The win was the first for the Hurricanes since general manager Ron Francis traded former captain Eric Staal to the New York Rangers on Sunday for a prospect and two second-round draft picks. Staal had served as Hurricanes captain since the 2009-10 season.
"I think it's been quiet more so for the guys who have been around here his whole career," Peters said. "I've only been here for two years, but I'll tell you what -- Eric Staal was a big piece, a 6-foot-4 centerman and we're going to miss him obviously and New York will benefit from the acquisition, but that's the reality of the situation we're in right now."

Nordstrom, 24, broke a 1-1 tie off a rebound in the left circle and Nathan Gerbe scored into an empty net with 21 seconds remaining. Derek Ryan scored and Eddie Lack made 29 saves for Carolina (29-26-10). Lack made his first start in seven games and won for the first time since Feb. 16.
"I felt like didn't have a ton to do," Lack said. "That breakaway save [against Kyle Palmieri with 12 seconds left in the first period] was important for me. After that, I felt calm in net. I feel like I've been playing good games this year but haven't been as consistent as I wanted.
"That's the biggest key for me. I need to come up with three or four of these games in a row and get some momentum."
Adam Henrique scored and Cory Schneider made 16 saves for New Jersey (30-27-7), which lost for the sixth time in seven games.
"I think what's missing is we haven't been good enough to get the end results of late," Devils coach John Hynes said. "That's something we'll have to work at as a group. That'll be our challenge before we play again [at the Nashville Predators] on Thursday."

Ryan, recalled Monday from Charlotte of the American Hockey League, scored a power-play goal to make it 1-1 at 4:36 of the second period. After taking a pass from defenseman Jaccob Slavin at the top of the right circle, Ryan skated to the faceoff dot and took a wrist shot that beat Schneider over the shoulder.
"It's pretty unbelievable, no question," Ryan said. "It was just an awesome day, an emotional day, playing my first NHL game and [scoring a goal] was just icing on the cake. I can't really put it into words."
At age 29 years, 63 days, Ryan was the oldest player to make his NHL debut with the Hurricanes, according to Elias Sports Bureau. Forward David Gove was 27 years, 272 days old when he played his first NHL game Jan. 31, 2006.

Ryan was born 16 days later than the previous 29-year-old to score a goal in his first NHL game, Bryan Lerg (29 years, 79 days) of the San Jose Sharks on April 9, 2015 at the Edmonton Oilers, according to Elias. He is the oldest player in the history of the Hartford Whalers/Carolina franchise to score a goal in his first NHL game. Randy MacGregor (28 years, 126 days) scored on Nov. 12, 1981, at the Philadelphia Flyers.
"It's got to feel good for him; a 29-year-old rookie scoring a goal in his first NHL game," Peters said.
Henrique gave the Devils a 1-0 lead 10:54 into the game. Defenseman Andy Greene took the initial shot from the top of the left circle that tipped off Devils forward Tyler Kennedy and then Henrique. It was his 20th of the season; Henrique hadn't scored 20 since the 2013-14 season when he had a career-high 25.