RALEIGH, N.C. — Jesperi Kotkaniemi scored 20 seconds into the game and rookie goalie Pyotr Kochetkov stopped the first 35 shots he faced as the Carolina Hurricanes beat the struggling New Jersey Devils 4-1 on Tuesday night in a matchup of Metropolitan Division leaders.
Jordan Staal, Teuvo Teravainen and Stefan Noesen also scored for the Hurricanes, who have a 12-game points streak and moved into first place in the division, two points ahead of the Devils. Jaccob Slavin had two assists.
Kochetkov made 37 saves overall, including a stop on Jesper Bratt’s breakaway in the final 30 seconds of the second period.
The Devils lost their sixth straight game. A stunning downfall considering New Jersey lost only four times through the end of November — a span of 23 games.
Jack Hughes scored with 4:36 remaining as the Devils, who trailed 3-0 at the time, avoided their first shutout of the season. Hughes leads New Jersey with 17 goals.
Devils goalie Vitek Vanecek stopped 10 of 13 shots in two periods before being pulled in favor of Mackenzie Blackwood, who made six saves.
The Hurricanes put three shots on goal in the game’s first 20 seconds. Kotkaniemi knocked in his own rebound for his fourth goal and the fastest score to start a game for Carolina since a goal 12 seconds into a Feb. 16, 2020, game against Edmonton.
Staal’s goal came at 4:17 of the second period. He beat the Devils down the ice in transition on the left side and drilled the puck past Vanecek.
Just over two minutes later, Teravainen scored a short-handed goal that gave the Hurricanes a 3-0 lead.
Through two periods, the Devils built a 27-13 advantage in shots on goal.