The Carolina Hurricanes came ready to play in game one in front of a raucus crowd. The New Jersey Devils did not. In a game that saw Carolina dominate from beginning to end, the Hurricanes defeated the New Jersey Devils 4-1 to take a 1-0 lead in their best of seven first round series.
The first period was all Carolina, as it appeared the rest that several players received during the leadup to the playoffs was exactly what they needed. The Canes outshot the Devils 17-5 in the first period, dominated time of possesion, and easily killed one Power Play that the Devils had when Jalen Chatfield was called for interference.