Staal of Hurricanes relishing challenge against Devils in East 2nd Round

RALEIGH, N.C. --Jordan Staal has his hands full trying to slow down New Jersey Devils center Jack Hughes in the Eastern Conference Second Round. So, the Carolina Hurricanes center undoubtedly welcomed a day of rest Thursday before Game 2 of the best-of-7 series at PNC Arena on Friday (8 p.m. ET; TNT, SN, TVAS).

Staal also had to conserve some energy for watching his older brothers Eric and Marc playing with the Florida Panthers against the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 2 of their second-round series Thursday night.

Staal tried to watch the Panthers' 4-2 win in Game 1 comfortably from his couch Tuesday, but admitted, "I was off the couch quite a bit pretty quickly."

"Just fun to watch, obviously," he said. "They always battle out. Played a great [Game 1] in Toronto and they're off to a good start."

The Hurricanes are too after a resounding 5-1 win against the Devils in their Game 1 on Wednesday. Staal did his part in holding Hughes, who set a New Jersey record with 99 points during the regular season, without a point and limiting him to two shots on goal. Staal also had two assists, including a face-off win that led to Carolina's first goal, scored by defenseman Brett Pesce at 9:41 of the first period, and a center-ice hit on Hughes that dropped him to the ice in the second.

They weren't on the ice against each other for every shift, but by the end of the night, Staal was plus-3 and Hughes was minus-3.

"That's what he does," Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "It's not perfect every night, but that's pretty much how (he does it). Maybe he doesn't get on the scoresheet all the time. It doesn't look any different than that, usually. That's kind of how he plays. Tough guy to play against. Obviously, the leader of our group because of the way he does things."

Staal also did it in the first round, helping hold the New York Islanders top line of Anders Lee, Bo Horvat and Mathew Barzal to one 5-on-5 goal (scored by Barzal) in the three games in Carolina in the first round. New Jersey can get away from the matchup when they have last change on home ice in Games 3 and 4, but Hughes will likely see another heavy dose of Staal in Game 2.

"They have home-ice and he's a big part of their team," Hughes said. "I know he matches up against top lines and top players, but we've just got to play our game and we've got four good lines and we'll try to play with our four lines and play that way."

Staal has been at this for 17 NHL seasons, including the past 11 with Carolina after six seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins, with whom he won the Stanley Cup in 2009. He has been the Hurricanes captain the past four seasons.

Staal had 34 points (17 goals, 17 assists) in 81 games during the regular season, but his value increases during the Stanley Cup Playoffs because of his leadership and abilities to shut down top offensive players and win key face-offs (53.7 percent). Staal (6-foot-4, 220 pounds) has the advantage in size, strength and experience on Hughes (5-11, 175), whose speed, dynamic creativity and shiftiness make him difficult for any opponent to contain.

Staal has always embraced such challenges.

"I don't think I've changed a ton in my game since I started," he said. "Obviously, it's the way teams do things … but defensively, with time and space and really just having the puck in their offensive zone is always the best way to play defense."

Although Staal has yet to score a goal in the playoffs this season, he's had some key moments offensively, such as his two assists Wednesday and setting up Jesper Fast up for the overtime winner in a 4-3 victory in Game 2 of the first round. After Carolina eliminated New York in six games, Staal bemoaned that he hadn't chipped in more in that series, but stated optimistically, "Hopefully, my time will come soon."

The Hurricanes know what to expect from him regardless of whether he scores.

"He sets the tone," forward Jordan Martinook said. "He's our leader and we follow him. He's got probably one of the hardest matchups out there playing against Hughes and you tip your cap to him every night to watch him play and watch him do his thing."

Staal's focus is on the trying to defeat the Devils, but he's followed Eric and Marc from afar throughout the playoffs. He let out a loud "Woooh!" in Carolina's celebratory locker room following their series-clinching 2-1 overtime win in Game 6 at New York, when news reached him that Florida also won that night, extending its series against the heavily favored Boston Bruins to a Game 7.

The Panthers won that series with their own overtime win in Game 7, keeping Eric and Marc on a potential collision course to face Jordan in the Eastern Conference Final. Such a playoff series, which would be the first to include the three Staals, might shut down their hometown of Thunder Bay, Ontario.

With Eric 38, Marc 36 and Jordan 34, they might not get this close to that chance again.

"You savor it every year," Jordan Staal said. "I think you ask anyone in the NHL, they want to be in the playoffs. So I don't think that's ever changed in our family. It's the favorite time of the year and everyone we know, everyone in Thunder Bay, everyone's watching, and we know that, and we understand that and it's just a lot of fun to be a part of the Cup playoffs."