Devils frustrated after familiar 2-0 deficit against Hurricanes - ESPN

The New Jersey Devils limped home after Game 2 against the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday night in a familiar spot: Down 0-2 in their series, having been embarrassed by their opponents in consecutive losses.

«We should be really pissed off right now,» said Devils captain Nico Hischier, after Carolina's 6-1 win in Raleigh. «I think what bothers me the most is just that we lost our battles and it's the playoffs. But we can't feel too sorry for ourselves. It's a series. We have to come back to our own barn, have a bounce-back game and forget what happened tonight as fast as possible.»

What gave the Devils hope after the game was a sense of déjà vu: They dropped the first two games of their opening round series against the New York Rangers, before roaring back to win in seven games. In fact, they were also dominated in those games, getting outscored 10-2 in two home losses.

The Hurricanes outscored them 11-2 in the last two games. New Jersey was unable to mount any sustained offense against the Canes' defense. The Devils played Carolina even in the first period, despite being unable to cash in on a 5-on-3 power play. The Hurricanes blew open the game with four second-period goals, including back-to-back tallies by forward Jesperi Kotkaniemi.

«We shot ourselves in the foot. They compete hard on all pucks and we didn't match that tonight unfortunately,» said forward Miles Wood. «There's not much that can be said about this game. We've got to flush it and move on. We've been here before, especially in the first round against a great team, and we came back and won. So they haven't seen our best yet.»

Coach Lindy Ruff hoped that by returning home, the Devils might be able to use the last line change to get some matchup advantages