Mercer scores twice, Devils rally past Hurricanes

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Dawson Mercer had two goals and an assist, and the New Jersey Devils rallied to defeat the Carolina Hurricanes 5-3 at PNC Arena on Tuesday.

Mercer scored his second of the game to give New Jersey a 4-3 lead at 8:53 of the third period. After he got behind the defense, Mercer cut across the top of the crease and scored on the forehand around Pyotr Kochetkov.
"I knew the defense was flat-footed then and I just kind of drove it wide," said Mercer, who had his first NHL multigoal game. "Anytime when that goalie freezes, you want to take it across. I was pretty happy with that goal for sure."

Jesper Boqvist and Nico Hischier each had a goal and an assist, and Vitek Vanecek made 25 saves for the Devils (26-12-3), who have come back from multigoal deficits in consecutive games for the first time since Nov. 7-9, 2001, including a 4-3 overtime win against the New York Rangers on Saturday.
"That's a big win for us, to be down in the game and make a comeback against a good defensive team like [Carolina]," Mercer said. "Those points are massive for us right now."
Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Sebastian Aho scored short-handed, and Kochetkov made 18 saves for the Hurricanes (25-9-7), who have lost four in a row following an 11-game winning streak.
Aho gave Carolina a 3-1 lead with a short-handed goal at 17:34 of the second period, scoring on a tap-in at the right post off a give-and-go with Teuvo Teravainen.
"He's a world-class passer, I had a feeling he was going to pass it back," Aho said. "I kept my stick on the ice. Obviously, a great pass by him."

The Devils then answered with two goals 18 seconds apart.
Mercer took the puck out of the corner and cut to the net before scoring five-hole on a backhand to make it 3-2 at 19:08, and Boqvist received a pass from Mercer at the bottom of the left face-off circle and also scored five-hole on a backhand to make it 3-3 with 34 seconds remaining in the period.
Boqvist has four goals in 34 games this season and ended a 19-game goal drought.
"It's been a struggle. You've just got to find a way to score," Boqvist said. "Today, that was (shooting) low, so it was nice for sure."

Carolina took a 1-0 lead at 13:03 of the first period on a short-handed goal by Kotkaniemi. Martin Necas won an offensive-zone face-off forward and sent the puck back to Kotkaniemi, who scored with a quick wrist shot from the right hash marks.
"You can't let that get into your head, what happened, happened," Mercer said. "The game is never over until that buzzer goes. I think we really stuck with [it]."

The Devils have allowed four short-handed goals in the first 40 games.
"I'm disappointed with giving up two short-handed goals for sure, but we ended up scoring our own two [goals] in the last minute (of the second period) that they're not happy with," New Jersey coach Lindy Ruff said. "We're a group that just stays with it, believes we can get back in it, creates some opportunities."
Jonas Siegenthaler tied it 1-1 at 17:06 with a sharp-angle shot from the goal line that went in between Kochetkov's right pad and the left post.
Max Pacioretty restored the Hurricanes' lead at 8:50 of the second period when he followed his own shot off the end boards and his backhand centering pass deflected off Devils forward Yegor Sharangovich past Vanecek to make it 2-1.
Hischier was awarded a goal at 19:04 after he was hooked on a breakaway by Carolina forward Jordan Staal with Kochetkov pulled for an extra attacker for the 5-3 final.
The Hurricanes outshot the Devils 24-15 over the first two periods but were outshot 7-4 in the third, including a 10:21 span without a shot on goal.
"That last minute (in the second period) killed us, there's no doubt, but we didn't respond in the third," Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "I don't know if we had a good scoring chance in the third, but we didn't get enough out of the first two periods when we played really, really well."
NOTES: Siegenthaler has two goals and 14 points this season, tying his career highs set in 2019-20 with the Washington Capitals and last season with New Jersey, respectively. … Hischier has 11 points (six goals, five assists) during an eight-game point streak. … Kotkaniemi scored his first NHL short-handed goal. … Pacioretty has three goals in three games after making his season debut Jan. 5. … Carolina forward Stefan Noesen had one hit in 8:29 of ice time after missing two games with a lower-body injury. … Devils defenseman Damon Severson had one assist to extend his point streak to four games (one goal, three assists).