RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Jordan Martinook and Frederik Andersen played with the steady veteran composure that comes only through game after game of postseason intensity.
It's a big reason why the Carolina Hurricanes hold a 2-0 lead in a playoff series yet again.
Martinook saw an opening and pounced on his chance to break loose for what turned into the go-ahead shorthanded goal in the second period. And Andersen came up big in net all night, putting them at the forefront of the Hurricanes' 3-1 win against the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday in Game 2 of their first-round series.
The win improved Carolina to 11-0 when playing for a chance to take a 2-0 series lead dating to its run to the Stanley Cup in 2006.
Shayne Gostisbehere also scored in the second for Carolina, while Seth Jarvis added a clinching empty-net breakaway goal in the final minute. That was enough for the Hurricanes, who had a much tougher fight on their hands against the shorthanded Devils than in a Game 1 romp.
Martinook, who also assisted on Jarvis' empty-netter, continues to thrive against the Devils in the postseason. Going back to a second-round win two years ago, Martinook has four goals and nine assists with at least one point in all seven of those games against New Jersey.
“I love playoffs, I feel like it brings the best out of me,” Martinook said when asked about that success. “I don't know. Just, I love the emotion, the energy, of the games. It's the funnest time of the year for a reason.”
Then there was Andersen, who stood up for 25 saves and didn't allow the Devils to find the back of the net for the final 56 minutes. That including a big stop on a shot by Nathan Bastian with about 6 minutes left.
“You see his demeanor,” Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour said. “Whether he has a great game or a game he'd like to have back, you would never know. It's just very, very calm. I think the way he plays in net is very calming, too.”
Jesper Bratt scored the Devils' lone goal while Jacob Markstrom finished with 25 saves for New Jersey.
The Hurricanes had dominated the series opener in Sunday's 4-1 win, leaving coach Sheldon Keefe and his players lamenting the Devils' inability to match Carolina's relentless edge in what captain Nico Hischier described as “simple hockey, hard hockey.”
It didn't help, too, that New Jersey was down defensemen Luke Hughes and Brenden Dillon from Game 1 injuries. But the Devils got the determined effort they needed to stay in this one.
“I liked a lot about our game today,” Keefe said. “We showed attitude, we showed competitiveness, we showed care.”
It started when the Devils pinned Carolina in its own end early to set up Bratt's clean-up of a rebound for the game's first score at 3:51 of the game.
It also included former Hurricane Brett Pesce personally saving two goals for the Devils on loose pucks against Markstrom, including one coming seconds after Gostisbehere pounced on his own rebound to beat Markstrom. On that one, Pesce knocked a puck out as it laid on the goal line — but not fully across it — behind Markstrom.
He also cleaned up one on Taylor Hall's near score on a push under Markstrom in traffic.
“I thought we could've easily won that game,” Pesce said, an icebag resting under a shirt on his left shoulder in the locker room. “I think we gave it everything we had and came up short.”
The winner fittingly went to the veteran Martinook on a strong attacking night, coming moments after the Devils were lined up for a faceoff to start a power play. Dmitry Orlov collected the loose puck and sent a transition pace to spring Martinook, who blasted a shot past Markstrom at the 5:54 mark of the second to put Carolina ahead for good.
“I can't think of enough good things to say about that game in particular,” Brind'Amour said. “It might have been his most impactful game as a Hurricane. ... So he was all over this game for us.”
The series now shifts north to Newark for Game 3 on Friday night.
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AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Aaron Beard, The Associated Press
