Devils Special Teams Are A Strength Early On

The New Jersey Devils began last season 0-5-2, dooming them to miss the playoffs for the first time since 1995-96. Determined to stop the bleeding early, the Devils came out swinging in their 4-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday. New Jersey used hard work and solid special teams play to even their record at home and overall at 1-1. It was obvious there were first game jitters for the entire team, including new head coach Pete DeBoer. The good news is for as lackluster a game as they played against the Flyers, Mondays’ game against he ‘Canes was the exact opposite. The Devils came out with energy and a strong work ethic leading to several quick scoring chances and setting the tone for the game. Despite losing the lead twice the game never felt like it was in doubt. Ilya Kovalchuk AKA “Koval-clutch” picked up where he left off last season scoring the deciding goal and adding two assists while Johan Hedberg made 24 saves. With the victory, Hedberg imp...