NEWARK, N.J. -- The New Jersey Devils have gone to the well more than once in attempt to remedy a power play the Carolina Hurricanes have rendered powerless through four games of the Eastern Conference First Round.
New Jersey is 0-for-12 and has generated 14 shots on goal on the man-advantage during this best-of-7 series that they trail 3-1.
It hopes to break through in Game 5 at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Tuesday (7:30 p.m. ET; FDSNSO, MAX, MSGSN, TBS, TVAS2, SN360).
"I think their penalty kill is very unique to the League, obviously better than everyone else's, and it takes away a lot of the things that our team thrives on and that's been a challenge," Devils coach Sheldon Keefe said. "There are plays available and we've been unable to make them under this type of pressure, but that's something we have to find our way through, clearly."
The Devils finished with the third-best power-play percentage (28.2 percent) during the regular season, but that success has not carried into the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
"Special teams has been one of our best things all season long and just because we haven't got the puck in during this series, [it] hasn't changed our confidence," New Jersey forward Jesper Bratt said. "We're practicing it, talking about it. We kind of know how to break it down. We’ve just got to execute a little bit better.
"It's a real privilege to be on the power play, and I think that's just something we have to embrace ... that we can be a difference-maker for the team."
There was talk after going 0-for-2 on the power play during a 5-2 loss in Game 4 on Sunday that not having Jack Hughes has hurt the unit, but the Devils tied for the League-lead (Pittsburgh Penguins) in power-play efficiency (32.6 percent; 15-for-46) in 20 games after the loss of their No. 1 center to a season-ending shoulder injury March 2.
"Obviously we’ve got to get our power play right, but we've been doing it all year, so no different here," forward Timo Meier said. "You’ve got to make adjustments but [you’ve] got to get your head right and make the plays with confidence and believe in one another that we can do it.
"You have to be mentally strong in those situations, and that's why I say we've been preparing all year for these moments. So now's the time to execute and make the right adjustments and go out there and do it."
Still, there's no question New Jersey misses Hughes' playmaking ability against a team that smothers opposing forwards on the power play.
"Obviously Jack is a guy you can't replace," Devils captain Nico Hischier said. "He's a guy that makes those little slip plays, sees the ice very well. Yeah, we miss him.
"But we've done a lot of videos. I think we’ve got to get a little looser and not hold our sticks too tight. We know we have a good power play, we've showed it all year. Now we’ve just got to loosen up a bit, change our mindset."
Easier said than done, however; the Hurricanes have had a top-five penalty-killing unit each of the past six seasons, including the No. 1-rated group in 2021-22, 2023-24 and this season (83.6 percent).
"Carolina pressures really hard; they have had this system for as many years as I can remember when it comes to pressuring," Bratt said. "They've just perfected their way of doing it, but with really hard pressure there's also breakdowns. So we’ve just got to take advantage of the chances that we get when we beat the pressure and then execute out of that."
