RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - Carolina captain Justin Williams made sure the Hurricanes rebounded from a “dud” of a loss.
Williams and Micheal Ferland scored in the game’s first 30 seconds and the Carolina Hurricanes held on for a 2-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Sunday.
“Listen, winning is a lot more fun, isn’t it?” Williams said. “A better attitude, a lot more fun around the dressing room.”
The Hurricanes lost 4-1 at home on Saturday night to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Williams didn’t mince words after that loss, the team’s seventh in nine games.
“It was a dud,” Williams said on Saturday. “Just call it what it was. A dud. And certainly unacceptable.”
Jordan Staal sprung Williams, who cut between Travis Zajac and Taylor Hall to give Carolina a 1-0 lead just 22 seconds in.
Eight seconds later, New Jersey defenseman Damon Severson turned the puck over in the neutral zone and Teuvo Teravainen fed Ferland, who sent a one-timer past New Jersey goalie Cory Schneider (20 saves) for a 2-0 lead.
Carolina’s two-goal outburst in the first half-minute is the fastest in franchise history and tied for fifth-fastest in NHL history.
“It never hurts in the NHL to come up with two goals early and make them chase us,” Staal said.
Goalie Curtis McElhinney made it stand up, finishing with 33 saves for Carolina, which improved to 2-1-1 after four games of a six-game homestand.
The Devils, who lost in overtime at home on Saturday to the Detroit Red Wings, cut the deficit in half when Pavel Zacha flipped a backhander past McElhinney at 6:33 in the first.
But New Jersey was 0 for 5 on the power play, including three empty chances in the second period.
“I thought after the first 30 seconds, we gathered ourselves and played well,” New Jersey coach John Hynes said. “Unfortunately, we couldn’t find a way to put the puck in the net.”
New Jersey had a 34 to 25 edge in shots, but could only get one shot by McElhinney. Will Butcher had two great chances to tie the game at 2, one in the second period and another in the final minute of the game, but McElhinney was up to the task.
“We had a couple of nice saves when we needed them,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said.
Williams, who scored for the first time since Oct. 13, was happy with how the team responded after Saturday’s loss.
“You always want to atone for an average game, actually well below-average,” Williams said. “I didn’t play great last game and you always want to get back at it. The good news for me was there was another game in less than 24 hours.”
Brind’Amour was happy to get a win, only the third in regulation in 11 home games, and how the veteran leaders stepped up.
“I thought our best players were our veteran guys,” Brind’Amour said. “We needed a win and they got us one.”
But the first-year coach wasn’t pleased with the turnovers or how many chances his team created after the explosive first minute.
“There’s a lot to still get better at,” Brind’Amour said. “At the end of the day, we got the win and it was an ugly win and you have to have those.”
NOTES: Devils center Nico Hischier was out for the fourth straight game with an upper-body injury. … Ferland’s goal in the first period was his team-leading 10th of the season and third in four games for Carolina. … Schneider, who missed the first eight games with a hip injury, is winless in four starts this season. . The Hurricanes have only been outshot twice this season (at Chicago on Nov. 8) but they are 2-0 in those games.
UP NEXT
Devils: Host the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday.
Hurricanes: Host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday.
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