NEWARK, NJ - The Devils surrendered not one, not two, but three self-inflicted goals against to Carolina and it was the difference in the game as the Hurricanes bested New Jersey, 3-1, at Prudential Center on Sunday night.

Luke Hughes was victimized twice, once by an own goal and another on an unfortunate sequence where he lost the puck in front of his own net. Goaltender Jake Allen gave up a puck behind his own net that led to another fluky tally for Carolina.

"It's one of those games. Some unlucky bounce, obviously a mistake by myself, and that's the nature of the beast," Allen said. "We couldn't get one to fall there, and they have a good team defensively, too. They don't give you a whole lot. Obviously, we had some power plays, but that's hockey, and you know, proud of the group, the way they played through that tonight."

After the two mistakes by Hughes, some fans responded by booing the young defenseman.

"It is what it is. It's part of sports," Hughes said following the game. "Obviously, I made a couple mistakes today, and I gotta be better, and it is what it is."

But Hughes' teammates and coaches rallied around him.

"We stand behind him. I mean, it's a game of mistakes. Mistakes happen," captain Nico Hischier said. "He's obviously not happy about his game, but there's more to come. He's gonna learn from that, and I know he will, and we're here to support him, and that's what good teams do. ... I understand the frustration (of the fans), but I think Luke is the first guy that takes accountability in that. And I know he'll be better in the next game, and we support him with that."

"I'm a goalie. I'm the one that always gets the bad end of the stick when I make mistakes," Allen said. "I've made so many mistakes to count. I've had fans boo me. I've had this and that, which, listen, I don't think he deserves. He's a kid that made two mistakes in a hockey game. Whoever doesn't make mistakes, I'd love to meet you, you know? But, it's a tough situation for him. In a game like that, probably something he's never felt before."

"It's disappointing that that was the reaction that we had in the building for the youngest player on the ice," head coach Sheldon Keefe said, "but he'll give them lots of reasons to cheer in the future."

Dawson Mercer scored the lone Devils’ goal.

Nikolaj Ehlers (own goal), Taylor Hall and Logan Stankoven scored for Carolina. Goalie Brandon Bussi stopped 28 of 29 shots against for the win.

Here are some observations from the game:

• It was a night of unfortunate luck for Devils defenseman Luke Hughes. His play resulted in the first two Carolina goals. One the first, a point shot was stopped by goaltender Jake Allen and the rebound popped to the side of the crease. Hughes was trying to sweep the puck out of danger, but instead knocked it into his own net. On the second, he was carrying the puck through his own crease while Taylor Hall was hounding him. Hall was able to knock the puck off Hughes’ stick and past the leg pad of Allen.

Hughes: "The first one, I honestly don't really know what happened, but it just came off my stick funny and went in the net, and then the second one, trying to make a play. Just got a lucky stick on it. So, I've made those plays millions of times, and today, it just didn't go my way, so."

The Hurricanes got their third goal when Allen had the puck stolen from him while he was trying to play it behind his own net. Hall had the steal and then fed Stankoven, who shot it in as Allen scrambled to get back into position.

• A big moment occurred just 2:38 minutes into the opening period. That’s when Dawson Mercer took a hooking penalty with the Devils already trailing 1-0 in the contest. A power-play goal there for Carolina and not only would it be an early 2-0 hole, but an emotionally draining situation. Instead, the Devils killed it, were able to settle the game down after and responded by getting the tying goal (by Mercer appropriately). It kept the game close.

• Dawson Mercer took an early penalty in the first period that could have really hurt his team. His teammates stepped up for him to kill it off. Then Mercer stepped up for his teammates and tied the game.

Jonas Siegenthaler started the transition up to Arseny Gritsyuk. He carried into the zone and shot the puck wide. He followed up that miss by collecting the puck behind the net and threw it toward the slot. Timo Meier and Mercer were crashing the crease, and the puck found its way to Mercer’s stick. He buried it far side.

• The Devils went 0 for 4 on the power play. While the opening two man-advantages were disjointed and ineffective, the last two saw the team generated a lot of great looks and opportunities. The Devils had five shots on their third-period power play. They did everything but score. Unfortunately, that’s all the really matters.

Hischier: "I think our power play could have been better. We had lots of opportunity, and I could get one there, would've helped us in the game. And it was a long time. It was a tight game and if we score a goal on the power play, we might be even winning this game."