Tuesday, Apr. 17 7:30pm ET
Stevens, Devils rough up Hurricanes
RECAP
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BOX SCORE
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – The Carolina Hurricanes challenged the
wrong guy.
|  | | Bobby Holik opened the scoring after just 4 minutes, 44 seconds to quiet the Carolina crowd. |
New Jersey captain Scott Stevens set the tone again early on
with a jarring check that knocked out Carolina captain Ron Francis as the Devils dominated the Hurricanes en route to a 4-0 victory Tuesday night and a commanding lead in the best-of-seven series.
The defending Stanley Cup champions have a 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals against the reeling Hurricanes, who have been outscored a combined 11-1.
Stevens was a main target of the Hurricanes after he gave Shane
Willis a concussion in the waning moments of New Jersey's 2-0 win
Sunday, leveling the rookie with a hard, clean mid-ice hit.
But it was Carolina and Francis who paid again for getting
Stevens on edge.
"That's like going into a lion's den with a piece of steak in your hand, getting him angry," Devils defenseman Ken Daneyko said. "The guy is a devastating hitter.
"I've never seen anything like it," he added. "We don't see it coming from the bench and it's clean as can be. He's like one of those rare middle linebacker-type guys that sees the puck coming and times it perfectly."
Was it a clean hit?
The Devils said yes, Hurricanes coach Paul Maurice was on the other side.
"I don't think you can leave your feet on a hit like that,"
Maurice said. "But depending on what your zip code is it'll be a
clean hit or a jump."
The top-seeded Devils can advance to the second round with a victory Wednesday night.
"We would like to give them a game and put some pressure on them," Carolina's Rod Brind'Amour said. "But we've got to find a way to score goals first."
Most of the second and third periods were filled with fights and rough play as the Hurricanes attempted to take their frustration out on the Devils.
With 13:26 left, Stevens squared off against All-Star Sandis
Ozolinsh as several fights broke out, leaving Carolina with just 10
skaters at one point. Fans pelted Stevens with debris before he headed to the penalty box.
Carolina finished with 19 penalties for 71 minutes – 54 in the
third – while the Devils were called for 12 for 33 minutes.
"If they can't take the hitting maybe they should change
professions," Devils coach Larry Robinson said. "The last time I
looked this was a physical game and body checking was allowed.
Basically, they dug a hole for themselves taking all those penalties."
Martin Brodeur recorded his second straight shutout and 10th of
his playoff career, stopping 16 shots. Meanwhile, Carolina was shut
out in consecutive playoff games for the first time in franchise
history – a total of 58 games.
New Jersey tied an NHL record with 10 straight road wins at the end of the regular season, and the Devils picked up where they left off.
The Devils got the big body hit by Stevens 2:19 in and goals by Bobby Holik and Scott Gomez 7:20 into the first playoff game at the
Entertainment and Sports Arena.
Gomez, last season's rookie of the year, also added two assists for his first three-point playoff game.
Jeff O'Neill hit Stevens with a check along the boards early on as the crowd of 17,525 cheered. But it didn't faze Stevens, and seconds later he delivered a crunching check in the New Jersey zone that gave Francis a mild concussion.
"They set the tone at the start by coming after me," Stevens
said. "That inspires me and gets me going. When you come after me
I'm going to be coming too and I'm going to meet the challenge and
I'm going to be hitting anything that comes my way."
The 38-year-old Francis attempted to get up from his knees several times, staggering toward the bench. However, the 20-year veteran center was so stunned he couldn't find his way and play was halted as trainer Pete Friesen raced to help Carolina's leader.
Although the game was scoreless at the time, the tone was set.
Francis didn't miss a shift, but went to the locker room midway through the period after the Devils took a 2-0 lead. He didn't return.
With little offense in the series to begin with, and with Francis and Willis out, the Hurricanes didn't stand much of a chance in this one against Brodeur, who came in with a 1.83 career goals-against average in 86 postseason games.
Holik got his third of the series with a wrist shot over Arturs
Irbe's glove 4:44 in, and less than three minutes later Irbe's poor
clear to the corner went right on the stick of Alexander Mogilny,
who found a wide open Gomez for a 2-0 lead.
"Getting those early two goals took the crowd right out of the game," Robinson said.
The Devils put the game away five minutes into the second when
Randy McKay beat Irbe for his 15th career playoff goal and Brian
Rafalski scored his first of the series on a breakaway.
Game notes
The Devils, No. 1 in the NHL on the power play during the regular season, went 0-for-9. They are 0-for-18 in the series. ...
Darren Langdon played in just his third game since Feb. 8 for the Hurricanes. ... The Devils have outshot the Hurricanes 38-10 in the first period through three games. ... Francis has had back luck in his two playoff series since joining the Hurricanes. Two seasons ago, he injured an ankle in Game 1 and missed most of the series with Boston.
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
New Jersey Clubhouse
Carolina Clubhouse
Hurricanes-Devils Series Page
Brodeur remains focused
RECAPS
Buffalo 4
Philadelphia 3
New Jersey 4
Carolina 0
Edmonton 2
Dallas 1
San Jose 3
St. Louis 2
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Ron Francis and the Hurricanes fall victim to Scott Stevens' physical play.
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A streaking Brian Rafalski takes the cross-ice pass from Scott Gomez and skates in for the goal.
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RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Alexander Mogilny makes a precision pass to Randy McKay who gives the Devils a 3-0 lead.
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RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Alexander Mogilny makes the centering pass from the corner and Scott Gomez bats it in for the goal.
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RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
The Devils go on top early when Bobby Holik beats Arturs Irbe with the wrister.
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RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
 Bobby Holik talks about the bad blood between New Jersey and Carolina.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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