NEW JERSEY VS. CAROLINA OTTAWA VS. TORONTO WASHINGTON VS. PITTSBURGH PHILADELPHIA VS. BUFFALO COLORADO VS. VANCOUVER DETROIT VS. LOS ANGELES DALLAS VS. EDMONTON ST. LOUIS VS. SAN JOSE

Thursday, April 26 Devils enjoy Monday off Associated Press RALEIGH, N.C. – When you've outscored, outshot and outclassed your opponent in winning the first two games of a playoff series, you're entitled to a day off. That's exactly what the New Jersey Devils did Monday as the defending Stanley Cup champions flew to North Carolina and got some rest prior to games on consecutive nights against the Carolina Hurricanes. The Devils hold a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference series and can close out the eighth-seeded Hurricanes with wins Tuesday and Wednesday at the Entertainment and Sports Arena. New Jersey has outscored Carolina a combined 7-1, outshot the Hurricanes 65-36 and won most of the physical battles so far in the lopsided series. "It is under no set of circumstances that we're overconfident or are relaxed," Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello said Monday afternoon at the team hotel. "If we're relaxed, we're in trouble. That's not the way we do things here. This is just a rest and travel day." The Devils have been in control of the series from the start, but Game 2 on Sunday ended in controversy as New Jersey defenseman Scott Stevens leveled Carolina rookie Shane Willis in the waning seconds of a 2-0 Devils victory. Willis, second among NHL rookies in scoring during the regular season, suffered a concussion after hitting his head on the ice. He spent Sunday overnight in the hospital after receiving five stitches to close a gash above his right eye, and he will miss Game 3 on Tuesday night and is doubtful for Wednesday. While the hit by Stevens, similar to the one he had on Philadelphia's Eric Lindros last season that sidelined the former Philadelphia star, was clean, it still stirred up the Hurricanes. "I can't say it was a dirty hit, but he was going for the kill," Carolina goalie Arturs Irbe said after practice Monday. "He wasn't just delivering a body check, he was going to try to kill the guy or put him out of the playoffs. That's how he plays. "We'll have to match his physical intensity and take over in that aspect of the game. The tone has been set. He has to get our presence felt on the ice. There is no other way around it." Carolina coach Paul Maurice refused to say whether he'll insert enforcer Darren Langdon or 6-foot-3, 225-pound defenseman Nick Wallin into the lineup to add muscle. When pressed on the issue, Maurice shot back to reporters, "We'll get you a ticket." Maurice has been upset by the lack of overall fire from his club, which played well over the final two months of the regular season in a playoff battle down to the wire with Boston for the final playoff spot in the East. But Carolina's back-to-back 18-shot efforts on New Jersey goalie Martin Brodeur are a season-low for consecutive games. "I know it seems like we're miles away from winning and competing in this series, but we've said all year it's a matter of two feet and how you want to play in those two feet. That's where we want to be better," Maurice said. Carolina was 1-0-1 against New Jersey at home this season and has been a good team on home ice, going 23-15-3-0 at the ESA, which will host its first postseason game Tuesday. Larry Robinson's team comes in with a 10-game road winning streak, but the New Jersey coach is worried the Stevens incident could possibly be a distraction. "Everybody is making such a big thing about what hockey is all about," said Robinson, a 10-time All-Star defenseman in the 1970s and '80s. "We used to see those hits day-in and day-out. "What concerns me most is that we're getting distracted a little bit by what happened at the end of the game, and we'll think more about that incident than about how we're going to play," Robinson said. "It's my job to get everybody focused and thinking about the game as opposed to what they might do." Carolina's players said they can't really afford to make Stevens a main target in Game 3. "If we lose the hockey game we're in a pretty big hole," Carolina captain Ron Francis said. "The focus has to be on winning the game. If we go out of our way to run at Stevens and end up getting penalties and losing the hockey game that doesn't accomplish anything." Stevens was asked if he ever feared a player would one day try to take him out because of the hits he dishes out. "I'm always ready for that," Stevens said. "I know what's going on out there. I keep my head up and I've played against people who run at me. When someone comes at me I'm ready for them. Then I can hit them hard, too." Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories

ALSO SEE Devils dominate, shut out 'Canes for 2-0 series lead AUDIO/VIDEO  ESPN's Darren Pang says Scott Stevens' hit on Carolina's Shane Willis was clean. wav: 3437 k RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6 More Audio/Video Highlights