04/22/25 09:29:00
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04/22 21:24 CDT Martinook, Andersen help Hurricanes push past Devils 3-1 for
2-0 lead in 1st-round playoff series
Martinook, Andersen help Hurricanes push past Devils 3-1 for 2-0 lead in
1st-round playoff series
By AARON BEARD
AP Sports Writer
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) --- Jordan Martinook and Frederik Andersen played with the
steady veteran composure that comes only through game after game of postseason
intensity.
It's a big reason why the Carolina Hurricanes hold a 2-0 lead in a playoff
series yet again.
Martinook saw an opening and pounced on his chance to break loose for what
turned into the go-ahead shorthanded goal in the second period. And Andersen
came up big in net all night, putting them at the forefront of the Hurricanes'
3-1 win against the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday in Game 2 of their first-round
series.
The win improved Carolina to 11-0 when playing for a chance to take a 2-0
series lead dating to its run to the Stanley Cup in 2006.
Shayne Gostisbehere also scored in the second for Carolina, while Seth Jarvis
added a clinching empty-net breakaway goal in the final minute. That was enough
for the Hurricanes, who had a much tougher fight on their hands against the
shorthanded Devils than in a Game 1 romp.
Martinook, who also assisted on Jarvis' empty-netter, continues to thrive
against the Devils in the postseason. Going back to a second-round win two
years ago, Martinook has four goals and nine assists with at least one point in
all seven of those games against New Jersey.
"I love playoffs, I feel like it brings the best out of me," Martinook said
when asked about that success. "I don't know. Just, I love the emotion, the
energy, of the games. It's the funnest time of the year for a reason."
Then there was Andersen, who stood up for 25 saves and didn't allow the Devils
to find the back of the net for the final 56 minutes. That including a big stop
on a shot by Nathan Bastian with about 6 minutes left.
"You see his demeanor," Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "Whether he has a
great game or a game he'd like to have back, you would never know. It's just
very, very calm. I think the way he plays in net is very calming, too."
Jesper Bratt scored the Devils' lone goal while Jacob Markstrom finished with
25 saves for New Jersey.
The Hurricanes had dominated the series opener in Sunday's 4-1 win, leaving
coach Sheldon Keefe and his players lamenting the Devils' inability to match
Carolina's relentless edge in what captain Nico Hischier described as "simple
hockey, hard hockey."
It didn't help, too, that New Jersey was down defensemen Luke Hughes and
Brenden Dillon from Game 1 injuries. But the Devils got the determined effort
they needed to stay in this one.
"I liked a lot about our game today," Keefe said. "We showed attitude, we
showed competitiveness, we showed care."
It started when the Devils pinned Carolina in its own end early to set up
Bratt's clean-up of a rebound for the game's first score at 3:51 of the game.
It also included former Hurricane Brett Pesce personally saving two goals for
the Devils on loose pucks against Markstrom, including one coming seconds after
Gostisbehere pounced on his own rebound to beat Markstrom. On that one, Pesce
knocked a puck out as it laid on the goal line --- but not fully across it ---
behind Markstrom.
He also cleaned up one on Taylor Hall's near score on a push under Markstrom in
traffic.
"I thought we could've easily won that game," Pesce said, an icebag resting
under a shirt on his left shoulder in the locker room. "I think we gave it
everything we had and came up short."
The winner fittingly went to the veteran Martinook on a strong attacking night,
coming moments after the Devils were lined up for a faceoff to start a power
play. Dmitry Orlov collected the loose puck and sent a transition pace to
spring Martinook, who blasted a shot past Markstrom at the 5:54 mark of the
second to put Carolina ahead for good.
"I can't think of enough good things to say about that game in particular,"
Brind'Amour said. "It might have been his most impactful game as a Hurricane.
... So he was all over this game for us."
The series now shifts north to Newark for Game 3 on Friday night.
___
AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and
https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
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