Hurricanes pick up first victory of season, beat Devils, 4-2

RALEIGH, N.C. — Carolina captain Jordan Staal said the Hurricanes weren’t ready to “embrace the grind” in their opening-night loss to Tampa Bay.

And in Game 2 of the season Tuesday night?

The Hurricanes’ focus was better, the grittiness there and Pyotr Kochetkov’s goaltending more than solid enough in a 4-2 win over the New Jersey Devils.

Seth Jarvis and Shayne Gostisbehere had second-period goals for the Canes and Kochetkov had the crowd screaming “K-oooch” after some timely, high-quality stops in the third.

The roar was even louder in the third when rookie forward Jackson Blake scored his first NHL goal. Blake went to the front of the net and got a piece of Dmitry Orlov’s shot, beating goalie Jacob Markstrom to push the Canes’ lead to 3-1 — Orlov’s 300th NHL point.

The Devils took advantage of a 5-on-3 power-play as Nico Hischier scored to make it a one-goal game as Blake was called for tripping and then the Canes for delay of game. But the Canes killed off the second penalty with 3:32 left in regulation.

Sebastian Aho’s empty-net goal with 1:36 left finished the scoring for the Hurricanes.

Jack Hughes scored his first goal and added an assist for the Devils, who played Monday afternoon and shut out Utah, 3-0.

After a disjointed start to the season on Friday, the Canes finally played their second game against a Devils team playing its sixth. The Hurricanes will leave this week on a six-game road trip during the N.C. State Fair run, not returning to Lenovo Center until Oct. 31.

But first, the Devils and their first Metropolitan Division game.

The Canes took a 2-1 lead into the third after Gostisbehere wristed a shot with 37 seconds left in the second period. Jesperi Kotkaniemi won a board battle in the Devils’ zone, Martin Necas grabbed the puck and found Gostisbehere open at the top of the slot.

Jarvis scored midway through the second by jumping on a loose puck in traffic, spinning and shooting.

Much of the opening period was played in the Devils’ end as Aho, Necas and Blake all had good scoring chances around the crease.

The Devils found their legs in the final five minutes of the period, testing Kochetkov a little more. But the two teams combined for 21 giveaways in the first as both looked to transition quickly.

Brind’Amour, with last change at home, went with his top line centered by Aho against the Devils’ top line. The Devils had the better of it early in the second as Jack Hughes got off a shot between the circles on the rush that fooled Kochetkov — Hughes’ first of the season.

The Canes tied it 1-1 in the second on the Jarvis goal after some good board work by Andrei Svechnikov behind the net. The puck bounced out into the right circle, where Jarvis corralled it, attempted a backhander, got the puck back, turned and fired again

Devils forward Stefan Noesen, who spent the past two seasons in the Canes’ lineup, was recognized during the first period and received a big hand. Noesen, off to a fast start this season with the Devils, acknowledged the cheers by tapping over his heart a couple of times.