RALEIGH, N.C. - Fresh off a convincing 4-1 victory to open the series on Sunday afternoon, the Carolina Hurricanes were right back to work on Monday.
Holding practice at Lenovo Center, there were few, if any, glaring holes that the team needed to address after taking Game 1.
Their start was fantastic, establishing a lead in the opening three minutes and holding New Jersey without a single shot attempt from between the circles during the first period.
Their five-on-five play was dominant, per usual, accounting for over 70% of the shots in the first 40 minutes.
Their special teams were strong, netting a power play goal and holding the Devils 0-for-2 on their man advantage chances.
Their goaltending didn't need to be fantastic for all 60 minutes, but Frederik Andersen played a major role in keeping his team in front during a third-period push from New Jersey.
There was a lot to like, and that's how the team wanted it to be.
"We talked about it before the game, we know our team's going to work hard. It's just about playing within the details, being consistent and not taking a shift off," opening goal-scorer Jalen Chatfield shared post-game. "I think we played a really good game. We stuck with it, and we played for each other. We had some good individual efforts, but we played a really good team game as well."
Yet, unsurprisingly, a few key pieces from yesterday's game had self-criticism and pointed out ways they could have been better. Despite a two-goal performance from trade deadline acquisition Logan Stankoven, he didn't think that his line, including Jordan Martinook and Jordan Staal, was at its peak.
"Honestly, I didn't think we had a lot of in-zone time, so that's something that we'll look to do more of moving forward," the rookie said. "I think that's where we can thrive."
The self-assessments may sound critical, but really, it's just business as usual for a team always looking to take their game to a new level.
"That's how we do business here. We go through yesterday's game. There's good stuff, some learners. It's what every team is doing this time of year," Sebastian Aho said following today's practice. "They're not major changes, obviously, but there's little tweaks here and there to try to improve."