Andrei Svechnikov after his hat-trick (Via Getty Images) Andrei Svechnikov delivered a dominant performance Saturday night at Prudential Center. The Carolina forward recorded his fourth career hat trick as the Hurricanes defeated the New Jersey Devils 4-1, marking their second consecutive victory after routing Florida 9-1 the previous night.Sebastian Aho played the perfect setup man, recording three assists on all three of Svechnikov’s goals. Frederik Andersen stopped 29 shots for the Hurricanes, who improved to 30-15-4 and maintained first place in the Metropolitan Division.
Carolina’s win also witnessed defenseman Jacob Slavin’s return after missing 10 games
Andersen acknowledged the challenge of playing back-to-back games after such an emotional victory on Friday. “I think we stuck with it and got to our game for the better parts of this game, coming off a pretty emotional win last night,” he said. “The schedule is tough, so kudos to everyone for getting back to it today and putting up a really good effort.” Svechnikov opened the scoring at 13:12 of the second period, taking a back pass from Aho and snapping a shot from the slot past Jacob Markstrom. Just 57 seconds later, he doubled the lead with a snapshot from the right faceoff circle that beat Markstrom between the pads. The Russian winger explained that his physical approach creates opportunities for his linemates.”I’m kind of a big boy, so I have to use my body,” Svechnikov said. “Whenever I use my body, I kind of create the space for my linemates.” Timo Meier pulled the Devils within one early in the third period with a power-play goal from the top of the left circle at 4:27. However, Jackson Blake restored the two-goal advantage at 8:33 on a delayed penalty, taking a pass from Nikolaj Ehlers and scoring on a backhand. Svechnikov completed his hat trick at 15:52 with a snapshot from the bottom of the left circle for the 4-1 final.Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour credited defenseman Jaccob Slavin’s return from a 10-game absence with an upper-body injury as a key factor in the team’s recent success.”It’s a big difference when No. 74 is in the lineup,” Brind’Amour said. “I think you can’t understate that. Suddenly, he goes in there, and it seems like whenever he’s on the ice, we’re in good shape.” With this loss, New Jersey slipped to the sixth position in the Metropolitan Division.With a 24-22-2 record, they are 0-3 against the Hurricanes this season. But while the Devils’ offense was unable to get past Carolina’s defense, Markstrom remained the silver lining for the side as he made 31 saves for his team with a .886 save percentage.Meanwhile, for the Hurricanes, the chemistry between Svechnikov and Aho continues to produce results after eight years of playing together. Their connection remains one of the most dangerous in the league when both are clicking.