The Hurricanes struggled in their D-zone as the Devils surged, and Carolina was forced to ice the puck. New Jersey had a few whacks at the puck in a scrum at the net front, but couldn’t notch the tying goal. The Devils had a good look with a shot by Dawson Mercer that was saved, but Carolina was called for a hook on the play, sending the Devils to the power play. New Jersey had some good looks, but fell to 0-12 on the power play in the series. The Devils had another good look after a forced turnover by Palat, but Hischier couldn’t tip it home while getting hit. Siegenthaler was tagged for interference, but the Devils killed the penalty to end a streak of three consecutive power-play goals against. New Jersey outshot Carolina 12-11 in the middle frame. Period Three The Devils took a high-sticking penalty in the opening minute of play, but the penalty kill came up huge in a crucial spot. Jesper Bratt made a strong move to the net front to get a shot on Kochetkov as the Devils pushed for the tying goal. Erik Haula had a slap shot defended, and the Devils had some sustained O-zone time. Bratt had another drive to the net, but his stick was tied up by a defender. The Devils were outshooting the Hurricanes 4-3 as they crossed the halfway mark of the final period. New Jersey had the better of the play, but had a hard time getting dangerous shots on Kochetkov, who hadn’t been challenged nearly enough. The Devils couldn’t get the puck out of their zone late, and an unlucky bounce put the puck on Burns’ stick and the shot from distance snuck through Markstrom at 14:14. Jordan Martinook shoveled at Markstroms pads, and the Devils took a long look at the goal to determine if there was interference, but they ultimately decided against a challenge. The goal was unassisted. The Devils pulled Markstrom late, but the Hurricanes hit the empty net to ice the game. New Jersey was outshot 30-22 in the loss. Slow Starts The Devils allowed a goal just 52 seconds into the game. They allowed another goal 42 seconds into the middle frame. They also took a penalty 52 seconds into the third period. The opening minutes of each period were problematic and put New Jersey on its heels right out of the gate. Having a strong start and getting the first goal is crucial for the Devils. In the regular season, they are well under .500 when they give up the first goal, with a 13-25-4 record, and that did not improve. New Jersey had to play from behind almost immediately and was chasing the game for the rest of the opening period. Sloppy turnovers, failed zone clearances, and lost board battles handed way too many chances to the Hurricanes. Additionally, Markstrom didn’t have his best game, but did settle in as the game progressed and the team in front of him played better. Period two began just like period one, with an early goal that put them down by three, which would ultimately be enough to win. The Devils rebounded much better and quickly took over the game, getting two goals to pull within one, but for a team that is starved for offense, the self-inflicted mistakes had already sunk them. Special Teams Special teams were supposed to be the advantage for the Devils in this series, but it has been the exact opposite. The Devils are 0-12 on the power play and have allowed a shorthanded goal against. Additionally, Carolina’s power play is not a strong point, but the Devils’ penalty kill has allowed it four goals. It would be remiss not to acknowledge the major injuries that have undoubtedly hindered the special teams’ performance. To begin the series, the Devils were already without Siegenthaler, their best defensive defenseman. While they got him back in game three, they lost Brenden Dillon and Johnathan Kovacevic in the meantime, leaving the penalty kill units scrambled. At the other end of the ice, they got Hamilton back, but lost Luke Hughes, a key playmaker for the power play. While the injuries have wreaked havoc, it’s not an excuse to be 0-12 on the man advantage with a -1 goal differential. The power play, in particular, has to be better if the Devils want to stay alive in the series. The Devils’ bottom six has been invisible on the score sheet. Hischier is the only player on the team with more than one goal in the series, with three. He is also one of only three players who are tied for the team lead in points, with three each. Meier and Bratt each have a goal and two assists. The rest of the scoring for the series includes Nemec (1G,1P), Mercer (1G,1P), Palat (2A,2P), Haula (1A,1P), Hamilton (1A,1P) and Pesce (1A,1P). As the series moves back to Carolina, they need to find more offense. They have only four goal scorers in the series, which makes the job for Carolina’s coaching staff easy. They will have the final change on home ice and can match their best defensive group(s) against Hischier, Bratt, and Meier to further stifle New Jersey’s offense, like they did in games one and two, where the Devils scored two goals total, one in each game. Like Nemec did in game three, someone outside of Hischier, Bratt, and Meier has to step up and provide any kind of scoring threat to make Carolina’s job harder. The series heads back to Raleigh for game five on Tuesday night, where the task is simple: win or go home. Looking ahead, the Devils no longer have any margin for error and need to win the next three contests to advance in the postseason, but first, they will need to win a game in Carolina, something they haven’t done this regular season or postseason. Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m. EST on MSGSN, TBS, MAX, and FDSNSO.