3 Observations From Devils’ Game 3 Victory Over Hurricanes

NEWARK, NJ -- We have ourselves a series. The New Jersey Devils crushed the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 3 by a final score of 8-4. Timo Meier, Jack Hughes, Michael McLeod, Nico Hischier, Damon Severson, Miles Wood, and Ondrej Palat all found the back of the net for New Jersey. Goaltender Vitek Vanecek was given the nod in net and made 26 saves on 30 shots.  

The Devils coaching staff decided to take a different approach to Game 3 by going with 11 forwards and seven defensemen. 

Game 3 Lineup:

Ondrej Palat - Nico Hischier - Jesper Bratt

Timo Meier - Jack Hughes - Dawson Mercer

Erik Haula - Michael McLeod - Tomas Tatar

Miles Wood - Nathan Bastian 

Jonas Siegenthaler - Dougie Hamilton 

Kevin Bahl - John Marino

Luke Hughes - Damon Severson

Brendan Smith 

Vitek Vanecek

The coaching staff's adjustments paid off as the team exploded offensively with eight goals. The additions on the blue lines included veteran Brendan Smith and rookie Luke Hughes who made his playoff debut. 

The 34-year-old brought exactly what one would expect. He played a physical game and was credited with four hits in addition to earning the primary assist on Jack Hughes' first goal of the night. 

Luke Hughes played 14:28, including 1:33 on the power play. He had two assists, one block, and two giveaways. After the game, head coach Lindy Ruff said, "You expect maybe to get a good game. I thought he gave us a great game."

After Game 2, Ruff spoke to the media about the lack of contribution from his team's top players. 

"You can't let frustration creep into your game, and I thought I saw frustration, "explained Ruff. "I think they feel the pressure of not producing, and it's one of the worst places to be until you kind of get out of that little funk where you get one, and you get going again."

Each of the team's four star players got out of that little funk in Game 3. Meier finished with one goal, Hischier scored his first of the postseason and added an assist, Jack Hughes celebrated an impressive four-point night, and Bratt added two assists. 

"We knew we had to be better. This group totally understands where we are at, and we were down 0-2 before," said Ruff. "... We knew this was going to be tough, but I think to get the start we did and get those guys on the board, the game (Hischier) had, (Meier) the way he played physically, the goal he got, and the other opportunities. I really felt that our top guys from Palat to Hischier gave us what we needed."  

Ahead of his debut, Luke Hughes told attending media member, "I get more nervous. I get really nervous in the stands."

During his debut, the 19-year-old looked calm, cool, and collected as he began the game alongside partner Severson. Hughes was on the receiving end of five hits, second most on the team behind Jonas Siegenthaler, but did not once look rattled or out of place. 

"I liked my game," said Luke. "There was definitely something to build off of. There are a couple of things I want to clean up, but I like my transition game, how I moved the puck fast, and how I defended hard. It was a good building block for me, and hopefully, I can keep going"

Of course, rookie players will make rookie mistakes, and the youngster's giveaway on the power play led to the Hurricanes' Jordan Martinook penalty shot goal. It was a lesson learned that thankfully did not negatively impact the outcome of the game. 

The Devils will look to even up the series on Tuesday, May 9, at Prudential Center when the puck drops at 7:00 P.M.