NEWARK, NJ - The Devils attempt at their first three-game winning streak since late November came up short following a 4-1 loss to Carolina at Prudential Center on Saturday night.

Andre Svechnikov picked up his fourth career hat trick while Sebastian Aho totaled three assists (all on Svechnikov’s goals). Jackson Blake also scored for the Hurricanes, who have won all three matchups against the Devils this season.

Timo Meier picked up the lone goal for New Jersey.

The Devils, who had won their previous two games, will embark on a four-game road trip after this in Western Canada and Seattle.

“This road trip we have here, this stretch before the Olympic break, we have to really start collecting some of these points,” Meier said. “It’s tight and every point matters. We’ve got to figure it out quick and do it on the road.”

Here are some observations from the game:

• The Devils played a near perfect game for the opening 33 minutes of the game.

Defensively, they smothered the Hurricanes. New Jersey allowed just one 5-on-5 rush chance against (and Carolina didn’t even register a shot on the try). They stayed above the Hurricanes, beat them to loose pucks in the defensive zone and were never overwhelmed by the Carolina forecheck.

Offensively, they generated a lot of great looks. Jack Hughes had a breakaway, Jesper Bratt had a point-blank chance at the crease and Evgenii Dadonov had a clean look from inside the near circle. But they couldn’t convert (hence the “near perfect”).

However, two miscues would lead to Carolina scoring the opening two goals of the game. Luke Hughes’ carried the puck out of his own zone and had a pass intercepted by Sebastian Aho. That led to a quick transition and the first goal from Svechnikov. Less than a minute later, a poor line change led to Carolina getting up ice with numbers and eventually Svechnikov’s second goal.

Jacob Markstrom: "We're playing a good game and controling the game. They break the ice and get the first one. They took over after that. That's pretty much the game there ... We're doing it to ourselves. That's a tough way to lose when we feel we're doing the right things. Then small mistakes and it's in the back of our net."

Despite doing a lot of good things, New Jersey found itself in a hole.

Keefe: “We have to make good on our chances. We didn’t make them pay for the mistakes that they made and they made us pay for the mistakes that we made.”

Meier: “Until they scored their first goal I thought we played well. We kind of change dour game after that and it plays right into their cards. That can’t happen, especially against a team like that.”

• The Devils were in nearly complete control for the opening half of the first period. It took until the 11:17 mark for Carolina to record its first shot of the game – albeit a point-blank chance for Jackson Blake. The Hurricanes were limited to just four shots in the opening 20 minutes of action.

• Meier picked up his 13^th goal of the season thanks to a great second effort. He had the puck above the circles in the offensive zone and attempted a shot that was blocked by Carolina’s Seth Jarvis. The puck came back to Meier and he sent a bad angled long-range shot toward the net that eluded goalie Frederik Andersen. From that distance and the way Meier’s body was positioned, Andersen probably wasn’t anticipating a shot coming. And when it did, he wasn’t fast enough to react to it.

• Devils forward Jesper Bratt played in his 600th career NHL game.