Raanta helps Hurricanes defeat Devils for third straight win

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Antti Raanta made 24 saves for the Carolina Hurricanes in a 2-1 win against the New Jersey Devils at PNC Arena on Saturday.

Jordan Martinook and Andrei Svechnikov scored for the Hurricanes (30-9-2), who have won three in a row.
Raanta, who missed nine games with an upper-body injury, made his first start since Jan. 1, when he allowed three goals on nine shots in a 7-4 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
"The only thing was just battling and trying to work hard," Raanta said. "The skill is there, so you know if you work hard, you're going to be successful. It didn't feel like a four-week break. I just went in there and played the game."
Jesper Boqvist scored for the Devils, (15-23-5), who have lost four straight and are 1-7-0 in their past eight. Jon Gillies made 21 saves.
"We played probably as well as we've played defensively," New Jersey coach Lindy Ruff said. "I just thought we passed up some offensive-zone plays where we had lanes to get it to the net and we chose to pass. That's probably the one area we have to improve."

Martinook gave the Hurricanes a 1-0 lead at 8:02 of the first period. He took a pass from Seth Jarvis along the end boards and spun to his backhand for his second goal of the season.
Svechnikov scored his 15th of the season after Gillies made a save off the rush, but the rebound went in the net off the left skate of New Jersey defenseman Colton White to give the Hurricanes a 2-0 lead at 14:22.
Boqvist scored his first of the season when he took a pass from Jimmy Vesey and took a one-timer from the right face-off circle to make it 2-1 with 2:34 left in the first period.
"Obviously nice to get the first one out of the way," Boqvist said. "[Janne Kuokkanen] had his wheels on driving around the net and Jimmy was screaming at me. I just tried to hit the net, so it was pretty lucky."
The Devils outshot the Hurricanes 12-7 in the second period, when Raanta stopped Boqvist on a breakaway midway through the period and Nathan Bastian on a shorthanded breakaway with seven seconds left. Raanta made a sprawling right-pad save when Jesper Bratt tried to jam the puck in at the left post at 14:22.
"He was the difference," Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "He made three or four key saves at real big times. We weren't at our best and their team was really coming at us there for a little while. He kept us in the game. I can't say enough about that."
Ruff gave the Devils credit for the second-period push.
"Frustration starts to build in, but our group is a group that doesn't quit," he said. "There were some disappointed players coming back to the bench that didn't finish the opportunity they had. They're hard on themselves for not capitalizing on opportunities, but we're a group that keeps digging in and tries to bounce back and win a hockey game."

Carolina outshot New Jersey 10-3 in the third period.
"I think everyone can agree the third period was a little more like Hurricanes hockey," Martinook said. "We wore them down and didn't let them wind up. They're skilled, they're fast. You're on your heels a little bit."
NOTES: New Jersey was 0-for-2 on the power play after scoring in each of their previous six games. ... Bratt's seven-game point streak ended. … Raanta is 6-0-1 against New Jersey. … Brady Skjei played his 100th game with the Hurricanes. He previously played 307 games with the New York Rangers. … Martinook missed four games in NHL COVID-19 protocol. … The Hurricanes wore Hartford Whalers uniforms for the sixth time since relocating to Carolina from Hartford for the 1997-98 season. They are 4-0-2.