You're Cooked: RIP to the Devils
Thanks for the memories, Jacob Markstrom and 2.5 functioning defensemen
It took two double overtimes and one stolen game, but the New Jersey Devils are the first playoff team pronounced dead. Did their sinister vibes ever stand a chance, with their series against the Hurricanes kicking off on Easter Sunday?
The Canes stopped playing with their food late Tuesday night for a 5-4 Game 5 win and a 4-1 series win.
The Devils’ demise was the most predictable situation of an otherwise chaotic first round, as they hobbled into the postseason without their No. 1 impact player Jack Hughes, and without much of the help on defense they spent the offseason acquiring. This was the realistic outcome given the circumstances, and I can’t find one person Actually Mad about New Jersey’s fate.
Even when they properly tested Pyotr Kochetkov’s first start of the postseason with three goals in the first 10 minutes, you knew they were still going to lose. Again, though, you weren’t even mad about it. You weren’t even a disappointed parent. You just felt bad for them.
So as we suspected, the Hurricanes answered with three goals in 3:54 to tie the game in the second period. Then they exploited the Devils’ defensive weakness, grinding them down with a 53-35 shot advantage, the most shots the Devils have allowed in a playoff game in franchise history.
The Hurricanes’ comeback motivation? That was easy:
