State Your Case: Will Hurricanes or Devils win Eastern 2nd Round?

The New Jersey Devils find themselves in a very familiar situation.

They trail the Carolina Hurricanes 2-1 in the best-of-7 Eastern Conference Second Round, getting some traction with an 8-4 win in Game 3 on Sunday.

They're trying to come back from an 0-2 deficit for the second consecutive series after trailing the New York Rangers by the same margin to start the first round. The Devils won four of the next five to defeat the Rangers in seven games and advance to the second round for the first time since 2012, when they lost to the Los Angeles Kings in the Stanley Cup Final in six games.

RELATED: [Complete Hurricanes vs. Devils series coverage]

So, can the Devils make it two in a row of overcoming an 0-2 deficit to start a Stanley Cup Playoffs series? The answer will begin to take shape in Game 4 at Prudential Center on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN, CBC, TVAS).

It's the question before NHL.com senior director of editorial Shawn P. Roarke and staff writer Tracey Myers in this installment of State Your Case.

Myers: I'll start by saying I was very impressed by the Devils' first-round comeback against the Rangers. The way those first two games went, I wasn't sure they had it in them. But playing with fire a second time I think is going to cost them. As much as the Hurricanes are probably tossing Game 3 into an incinerator, I've liked their moxie through the first two rounds. I liked how others have stepped up in the absence of Andrei Svechnikov in the regular season and Teuvo Teravainen in Game 2 of the first round against the New York Islanders. The Rangers went flat and stayed flat after taking that 2-0 lead in Round 1. I don't see the Hurricanes doing the same.

Roarke: Can the Devils overcome an 0-2 deficit in this best-of-7 series? You bet your bottom dollar (excuse the saying, I just spent the better part of two weeks in Las Vegas covering playoff hockey)! Will they do it? That remains to be seen and is the reason they play the games. The Devils did do it against a dangerous Rangers team that had veteran moxie, proven scorers and an elite goalie. They won three games in an extremely hostile Madison Square Garden, including a thorough victory in Game 7. Why? Because the Devils are young, and to a degree, innocent. They don't fully understand the stakes and are playing with house money (there I go again), which is mentally freeing. New Jersey wasn't supposed to be this good this fast. The second round is a bonus for the Devils, while it could be an albatross for the Hurricanes, who are the clear favorite from the East with the Toronto Maple Leafs in an 0-3 hole against the Florida Panthers in the other second-round series. This is shaping up to be the Hurricanes' year, but that can have suffocating side effects, especially when you suddenly have questions about your goaltending and your depth scoring. That is what we are looking at right now.

Myers:Sure, the Devils are in good shape in getting further than expected this season. That youth and vitality serves them well, but it's getting tested having to come back in two consecutive series. I figured they'd come into this series blazing, coming off that big win against the Rangers in the first round and surprise the Hurricanes at home, at least in one of the first two games. But it didn't happen, and I worry about the Devils playing behind the 8-ball yet again. It just doesn't bode well for long-term success or, in this case, second-round advancement. I'd argue New Jersey's goaltending situation isn't much more concrete than Carolina's. Vitek Vanecek hasn't been great (4.02 goals-against average, .845 save percentage). Akira Schmid has been great (2.30 GAA, .921 save percentage, two shutouts) but this is a lot to put on the shoulders of a 22-year-old in his first foray into the NHL postseason. Anyway, I just think the Devils are pushing their luck, and their luck runs out here.

Roarke: Throw all the numbers you want at me, they don't matter. Should the Panthers have ousted the Boston Bruins? No way! Should they be manhandling the Maple Leafs? Not in a million years. Should the second-year Seattle Kraken have eliminated the Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche? No. But it all happened because the Stanley Cup Playoffs are where the magic occurs, where teams forget about who they are supposed to be or who they were, and they play for a chance at glory. That is what the Devils are doing. They don't care about weaknesses or timelines; they are one of eight teams with a chance to advance. They have the best player in the series in forward Jack Hughes and he has a ton of offensive support. They believe and that is a dangerous thing in an opponent in the postseason. Why not now for these Devils? It will not be easy after the hole they dug against a quality, veteran opponent, but it is certainly doable. In fact, the Devils have the blueprint for 0-2 success from their first-round journey. Watch out for this team of destiny.