Devils eliminated from playoffs due to goalie instability

The New Jersey Devils were eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs by the Carolina Hurricanes, losing 3-2 in overtime in Game 5 of the best-of-7 Eastern Conference Second Round on Thursday.

New Jersey (52-22-8), the No. 2 seed in the Metropolitan Division, qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2018 and advanced to the second round for the first time since 2012.

The skinny

Potential unrestricted free agents:Erik Haula, F; Tomas Tatar, F; Miles Wood, F; Ryan Graves, D; Damon Severson, D; Jonathan Bernier, G

Potential restricted free agents:Nathan Bastian, F; Jesper Boqvist, F; Jesper Bratt, F; Michael McLeod, F; Timo Meier, F; Yegor Sharangovich, F; Kevin Bahl, D; Mackenzie Blackwood, G

Potential 2023 Draft picks:5

Here are five reasons the Devils were eliminated:

1. Star power outage

Jack Hughes led New Jersey with three goals and six points in five games against Carolina, but several top players failed to have an offensive impact. Jesper Bratt had no goals and two assists, Nico Hischier had a goal and an assist, and Dougie Hamilton had one assist and was minus-10 in five games.

The three combined for 227 points (85 goals, 142 assists) in the regular season.

New Jersey ranked tied for fourth in the NHL averaging 3.52 goals per game in the regular season. They averaged 2.60 against the Hurricanes.

2. Fallout at 5-on-5

New Jersey was overwhelmed at 5-on-5 against the Hurricanes throughout the series and struggled mightily in winning 1-on-1 battles against a bigger, heavier team. They couldn't generate enough traffic in front of goalie Frederik Andersen, who finished the series 4-0 with a 2.01 goals-against average and .918 save percentage.

The Devils were outscored 17-10 at 5-on-5 in five games.

New Jersey did own much of the 5-on-5 play in an 8-4 victory in Game 3, outscoring Carolina 6-1 and outshooting the Hurricanes 31-23 after being dominated in that area in Games 1 and 2 (outscored 8-2 at 5-on-5). In the end, however, it just wasn't enough.

RELATED: [Complete Hurricanes vs. Devils series covergae]

3. Goalie glitch

New Jersey's starting goalie was pulled in three of the five games.

Akira Schmid stopped 11 of 12 shots in relief of Vitek Vanecek, who allowed five goals on 17 shots in a 6-1 loss in Game 4. Schmid did rebound with a 36-save performance in Game 5, but it was too little, too late.

The rookie goalie finished 4-4 with a 2.35 GAA, .921 save percentage and two shutouts in nine games (eight starts) in the playoffs, but was pulled after starting each of the first two games against Carolina and was 0-3 with a 4.23 GAA and .874 save percentage in the series.

Vanecek did not allow fewer than four goals in any his four postseason starts and went 1-3 with a 4.64 GAA and .825 save percentage. He was 1-1 with a 4.81 GAA and .824 save percentage in four games against Carolina.

Schmid, who turned 23 on Friday, took over for Vanecek after New Jersey lost the first two games in the first round against the New York Rangers and went 4-1 with a 1.38 GAA, .951 save percentage and two shutouts against them but was unable to sustain that success against Carolina.

4. Powerless

The Devils ranked sixth on the power play (16.7 percent; 2-for-12) among the eight teams to advance to the second round and allowed a League-leading three short-handed goals to the Hurricanes.

It was a disappointment, particularly after New Jersey ranked 13th in the regular season with a 21.9 power-play percentage.

Hughes (nine power-play goals), Bratt (eight), Hamilton (eight) and Hischier (seven), who combined for 32 power-play goals in the regular season, combined for one (Hughes) in the playoffs and none against Carolina.

5. Martinook's impact

The Devils had no answer for second-line left wing Jordan Martinook, who was a one-man wrecking crew for the Hurricanes.

After he didn't have a point in six games against the New York Islanders in the first round, Martinook had 10 points (three goals, seven assists) in five games against the Devils, including four straight multipoint games.

Martinook's point production came at a time when the Hurricanes needed a secondary boost without three of their more prolific scorers in forwards Teuvo Teravainen (broken hand), Andrei Svechnikov (knee) and Max Pacioretty (Achilles).