Rod Brind'Amour has frequently noted his Carolina Hurricanes would need goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov in a playoff run even as veteran Frederik Andersen played well in a lead role. The 25-year-old Kochetkov has already proven his coach right and might have to do so again as the Hurricanes get their first shot at advancing to

Frederik Andersen left the game after the Devils’ Timo Meier ran into him in the second period, but the Hurricanes survived and took a 3-1 series lead behind Andrei Svechnikov’s hat trick.

Despite the Devils spending more time in their offensive zone in the second half of the game, the Hurricanes’ hyper-skilled defense rarely bent. The Devils ran out of time, even before Martinook’s goal, and Svechnikov ended the game with an empty net goal with 3:17 left to also secure a hat-trick.