Kochetkov makes 23 saves in season debut, Hurricanes hold off Devils

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Pyotr Kochetkov made 23 saves in his season debut, and the Carolina Hurricanes held on for a 4-2 win against the New Jersey Devils at Lenovo Center on Tuesday.

“He was good. They had a lot of tricky [shots],” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “There were a bunch of good saves that maybe didn’t seem that dangerous, but they were.”

Jackson Blake scored his first NHL goal, and Seth Jarvis and Shayne Gostisbehere also scored for the Hurricanes (1-1-0).

Jack Hughes had a goal and an assist, and Jesper Bratt had two assists for the Devils (4-2-0). Jacob Markstrom made 27 saves.

“[Markstrom] had to work way too much tonight. We didn’t do a good enough job protecting him,” New Jersey coach Sheldon Keefe said. “[They’re] an elite forechecking team. It was a real struggle for us tonight.”

Hughes scored his first goal of the season off the rush to give the Devils a 1-0 lead at 1:16 of the second period. He cut in front of Hurricanes defenseman Brent Burns and into the slot before beating Kochetkov on a low wrist shot.

The Hurricanes tied it 1-1 at 10:55. Devils forward Stefan Noesen tried to knock the puck off Jarvis' stick in the slot, but the Carolina forward spun and scored over Markstrom’s glove.

“Just trying to keep it simple, getting to the net,” Jarvis said. “Honestly, a lot of it was just getting it deep early.”

Gostisbehere put Carolina in front 2-1 with 37 seconds left in the period when he took a pass from Martin Necas above the face-off circles and scored with a wrist shot under the crossbar.

“We just sustained pressure low,” Gostisbehere said. “[Jesperi Kotkaniemi] made a great play and found ‘Nechie,’ and Nechie found me. I was just trying to get the shot through, and thankfully the goalie slid the other way.”

Blake made it 3-1 at 10:16 of the third period by deflecting Dmitry Orlov’s wrist shot. Blake, who is the son of former NHL player Jason Blake, was selected in the fourth round (No. 109) in the 2021 NHL Draft.

“I was just hoping it would come," Blake said. "I didn’t care where or when or how. Fortunately tonight it did. [Brind’Amour] gave a speech after the game. He said that 20 years down the road, you’re going to remember this. That’s something I’ll never forget tonight. It’s a pretty special feeling.”

Blake was playing in his third NHL game.

“You love to see that. You kind of forget sometimes how emotional the game can be,” Brind’Amour said. “No one’s going to remember this game, but he will. It was a great moment for him.”

Nico Hischier cut it to 3-2 at 15:16, roofing a shot near the right post on a 5-on-3 power play.

“I mean, 5-on-3 you expect to get a goal, so we’re glad we made that,” Hischier said. “I think we’ve got to dig in and we’ve got to feel comfortable in those kind of games. Sometimes the opponent is all over you, and we’ve got to be comfortable in that and trust our system. Trust that if we keep doing the little things right, it comes to our favor.”

Sebastian Aho scored an empty-net goal with 1:36 remaining for the 4-2 final.

NOTES: Bratt extended his point streak to five games (one goal, five assists), and Hischier extended his to three games (two goals, two assists). … Aho played in his 600th NHL game. … Orlov's assist on Blake's goal was his 300th NHL point.