The Carolina Hurricanes are in complete control through two games of their second-round playoff series, having outscored the New Jersey Devils 11-2. The typically dynamic Devils, who also lost the first two games in Round 1, are looking to flip the script in Sunday afternoon's pivotal Game 3. Here are three duos primed to swing the series as the action shifts to Newark, New Jersey.
Jack Hughes and Jordan Staal
You need to see, oh, maybe five seconds from the first two games to get a strong read on how the highly anticipated Hughes-Staal matchup is unfolding.
In Game 1, Hughes was accidentally high-sticked by Staal. The unpenalized incident led to Hughes, one of the faces of the NHL, losing a front tooth. In Game 2, Hughes backchecked to no avail as Staal scored on a breakaway deke. The 3-0 goal led to Hughes banging his stick against the end boards.
Hughes, a 99-point man in the regular season, produced three goals and two assists in the Devils' seven-game first-round series against the New York Rangers. Held pointless through two contests versus the Hurricanes, No. 86 has been on the ice for four goals against, zero for, and has personally gone entire periods without looking dangerous - in large part due to Staal.
Hughes, 21, and Staal, 34, have shared the ice for 20 five-on-five minutes. In that time, Carolina leads in shot attempts (15-14), shots on goal (9-5), and goals (2-0), while New Jersey holds the edge in high-danger attempts (5-4).
Hughes epitomizes the Devils' patented rush offense, which has been virtually nonexistent to start the series, while Staal - who's five inches taller and 45 pounds heavier - epitomizes the Hurricanes' smothering, error-free defense.
Plain and simple, if New Jersey can't find a way in Game 3 to gain speed through the neutral zone, make controlled zone entries, and then infiltrate Carolina's defensive zone structure, this series will only go four games. The Devils are days from golfing if they're unable to access the inner-slot area.
New Jersey has the home-team benefit of last change on Sunday. Expect coach Lindy Ruff to work feverishly to get Hughes away from Staal. It's been a pretty lopsided matchup, with rare glimpses of hope mixed in along the way.
Nico Hischier and Timo Meier
The Devils were outscored 10-2 to start the Rangers series and 11-2 so far in this one. So, if you're a New Jersey fan looking for a silver lining … the Devils have been in this spot before, and it worked out fine in the end. Does that help at all?
Yeah, it ain't pretty for the Devils, who are being schooled by the Hurricanes in all even-strength facets: pace of play, teammate-to-teammate connectivity, board battles, functional physicality, and puck management. What's more, New Jersey's power play, a respectable 13th-best in the regular season, is 0-for-5.
"We should be really pissed off right now," said Hischier after Game 2. The Devils captain and Selke Trophy finalist was referring to overall team results, but he may as well have been talking about himself and Meier.
Consider this: According to Natural Stat Trick, 16 players have accumulated 3.5 expected goals or more in the playoffs. Fourteen have bagged between two and seven actual goals. The other two - Hischier and Meier - have zero.
Hischier is goalless in nine playoff games despite recording 24 shots on goal and 39 total attempts. Yes, he's collected five assists - three of them primary, none versus Carolina - but the lack of finishing is crushing, especially considering he's received a ton of offensive-zone starts in the second round.
Meier, the splashy midseason acquisition, is even more snakebitten. Zero goals off 32 shots of many types: 16 wrist shots, six snap shots, six backhands, two tips, and two slap shots. Injured in Game 7 of Round 1 thanks to a thunderous hit by Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba, Meier missed the series opener. He looked OK, if not slightly tentative, in his return to the lineup on Friday. Like his teammates, Meier generated very little in the middle of the ice in Game 2.
For their careers, Hischier and Meier are above-average finishers, scoring on 11.9% and 10.5% of regular-season shots, respectively. If the hockey gods have any mercy, they'll let at least one puck cross the goal line in Game 3.
Brent Burns and Jaccob Slavin
Former top-three draft pick Jesperi Kotkaniemi between grinders Jordan Martinook and Jesper Fast is the forward line operating at a higher clip than all others in this series. The unsung trio has hounded pucks in each zone, delivered body checks at the right times, and buried scoring chances.
In less obvious ways, the Hurricanes' top defensemen have been equally valuable over the first two games. And, based on how well Burns and Slavin performed in the regular season, there's absolutely no reason to believe the yin-and-yang pairing will be rendered ineffective anytime soon.
Burns and Slavin, who sit second and third in ice time, trailing only Devils blue-liner Jonas Siegenthaler, have put on a defensive clinic. Tight neutral-zone gaps. Textbook stick checking. Brute force on occasion. Seven combined blocked shots, including four on the doorstep of Carolina's crease.
The No. 1 pairing is leading the charge in insulating goalie Frederik Andersen, either by denying New Jersey clean zone entries or keeping opposing forwards to the perimeter throughout their time in the zone. In other words, Burns and Slavin, each with 50-plus games of playoff experience, are executing Rod Brind'Amour hockey to a tee, and the rest of the Canes players aren't lagging far behind.
That's what, from the Devils' perspective, is ultimately so demoralizing about going down 2-0. Despite missing offensive catalysts Max Pacioretty, Andrei Svechnikov, and Teuvo Teravainen, Carolina is scoring enough while playing its coach's system perfectly. The Canes aren't perfect. They are vulnerable like every other team. But right now, they're completely dialed in.
John Matisz is theScore's senior NHL writer. Follow John on Twitter (@MatiszJohn) or contact him via email (john.matisz@thescore.com).
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