Devils show resolve in must-win game

It wasn't just the win that stood out for the Devils, but it was how they responded after Carolina tied the game at 2 in the third period to take it to overtime.

The old cliche goes that a playoff series has not started until the home team loses a playoff game.

After the Carolina Hurricanes held serve by winning their first two home playoff games, it was the Devils’ turn to answer as the series shifted to Prudential Center on Friday night.

The home team answered by showing resolve in winning 3-2 in double overtime to make this a 2-1 first-round series in the best-of-seven.

The word resolve comes from not just winning a game the Devils had to get, but responding to a 2-2 tie after blowing a 2-0 lead. It could have been easy for them to give up after Carolina scored two power-play goals in the third period. After all, they did all they could to outplay Carolina for the first two periods, just to see it go away.

It was easy to wonder if the Devils had enough to survive Carolina’s punch from that third period.

There’s a reason the hockey wonks picked the Canes to win the series in five. The Devils don’t have secondary scorers to keep up with the Hurricanes, and they are up against it without their superstar Jack Hughes. They were also missing a couple of integral blueliners in Luke Hughes and Brenden Dillon, which makes all of this even more impressive, how the Devils showed resolve.

The home team went to work in overtime by dictating play and making sure the visitors did not have much of the puck. It was how they set the tone in the first period by generating eight shots and delivering 11 hits that was good enough for them to take a 1-0 lead.

The defense did not give room for the Canes to score. On this night, it’s fair to give this unit credit for putting in a yeoman's work against the other team’s forwards, who can score in bunches.

Devils goaltender Jacob Markstrom made the saves in overtime to give his team a chance. He finished the night with 25 saves. It was why he was good enough to get the second star of the game.

You could make a case that Markstrom should receive the first star of the game award, which typically goes to the player who scores the game-winning goal in overtime. Simon Nemec earned that honor by scoring the game-winning goal.

It would have been a shame if the Devils lost this game. They outplayed Carolina most of the game. They did everything right to win by feeding off from the home crowd to dictating the tempo of the game.

In the first goal, they took advantage of the Hurricanes napping, which left an open Nico Hischier to score in the first period. Then, it was Dawson Mercer who found the open slot to score in the third period, making it a 2-0 game.

You had to know Carolina would be heard from. That team didn’t win all these games and go deep in the playoffs for nothing. They showed that in the third period when Seth Jarvis and Sebastian Aho tied the game. The Hurricanes have guys who know how to score at this time of the year.

It was a test to see what the Devils were made of, and they passed it. There’s something to be said about that since they haven’t shown the goods of winning playoff games since Lou Lamoriello left the franchise as its hockey boss.

Too often, the Devils are known as a front-running team that only does well when things go well.

This doesn’t guarantee they are winning the series. They are up against a proven team. They have to win the next three games, and they have to win at least one on the road, which is why it’s going to be a tough task.

But on this night, the Devils should feel good about themselves. They showed they are not soft and finesse. They were not going to be pushed around.

They learned plenty from this game moving forward. Maybe they can make this a series after all.

If nothing else, the Devils showed they have toughness that can help them grow up into being a Stanley Cup contender one day.

Maybe we can look back at this game where they finally grew up.

This is why there's significance to this win that goes beyond avoiding being swept.