Apr 22, 2025; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA;Carolina Hurricanes center Seth Jarvis (24) celebrates his empty net goal against the New Jersey Devils during the third period in game two of the first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Lenovo Center. (James Guillory-Imagn Images) [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/d2713803-a075-4032-8178-701df530f8df.jpeg] Apr 22, 2025; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA;Carolina Hurricanes center Seth Jarvis (24) celebrates his empty net goal against the New Jersey Devils during the third period in game two of the first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Lenovo Center. (James Guillory-Imagn Images) The Carolina Hurricanes took a 2-0 series lead over the New Jersey Devils Tuesday as the team won 3-1 at Lenovo Center. Frederik Andersen [https://thehockeynews.com/shortUrl/w8STS3L] (25 saves) and Jordan Martinook [https://thehockeynews.com/shortUrl/98QzJHN] (game-winning, shorthanded goal) led the way for Carolina, who overcame a slow start for the comeback win. Here are three takeaways from the win: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OLD FRIEND, SAME HABITS What a game it was for former Hurricane Brett Pesce. The defenseman had to carry a heavy load for New Jersey, with the absences of both Luke Hughes and Brenden Dillon [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/carolina-hurricanes/latest-news/new-jersey-devils-dealt-massive-blow-hughes-dillon-out-for-game-2], and he more than held his own. Pesce played 23:14 Tuesday night, was the only Devil to finish the game with a positive goal differential (+1) and was credited with six blocks on the night. Most notably, Pesce also made two goal-saving plays throughout the course of the game. He pulled a puck off of the goal line in the second period [https://x.com/BR_OpenIce/status/1914819671380889947] immediately following the Canes' first goal and then knocked aside a loose puck from the crease [https://x.com/NJDevils/status/1914826141686223175] that was en route to the back of the net. "I said it before the series, he's a very special player and that's why everybody wanted him," said Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour. "He'll always be special to me because I saw that night in and night out for a long time and I watched him grow as a player into what he is now which is one of the top defenders in the league. Again, all the friendly stuff is after the series is over, but he's a great player." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TIME TO START PRODUCING It was another dominant game for the trio of Andrei Svechnikov, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Taylor Hall, but despite all of the offense they've been generating, they're the only line that hasn't gotten on the board yet for Carolina. In Game 1 [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/carolina-hurricanes/latest-news/3-takeaways-carolina-takes-game-1], the line outchanced New Jersey 20-6 with eight high-danger chances and a 94.42% expected goals share. In Game 2, they again outchanced the Devils 16-6 with five high-danger chances and a 80.91% expected goals share. But still, there's been no 5v5 goals and the team can't afford for that line to be snakebitten. "At this time of the year, the moral victories don't really count for much," Brind'Amour said when asked about his second line's chance production. "You have to have balance in your group. We can't just rely on [Sebastian Aho's] line to score or whatever. We do need contributions up and down the lineup if we're going to have success. It's good to see those guys creating offense, but we need to get them to put one in here." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THIRD PAIR DOMINATING THEIR MINUTES The pairing of Shayne Gostisbehere and Sean Walker has been one of the best defensive pairs in the postseason this year in terms of possession and chance generation. In their time on ice, the pair has a 54-24 edge in chances and in terms of high-danger chances, an 18-4 edge. Their 69.23% CF is second only behind Tampa Bay's pairing of Ryan McDonagh and Erik Cernak and their 76.76% xGF is third amongst all playoff pairs to play at least 10 minutes together. Last night, the pair also got their first goal with Gostisbehere's ridiculous solo effort in the second period. "I don't really get too many shifts with that first line and obviously they're highly skilled and I was just playing off of them," Gostisbehere said. "Every time I had the puck, there was a guy open and I just passed it to them. Blaker made a great play and luckily the puck squirted back out to me and I finished it." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Be sure to check out the Carolina Hurricanes 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs Hub [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/carolina-hurricanes/latest-news/carolina-hurricanes-2025-stanley-cup-playoffs-hub] for all postseason stories! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Stay updated with the most interesting Carolina Hurricanes stories, analysis, breaking news and more! 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