The Carolina Hurricanes defeated the New Jersey Devils 6-1 in Game 4 of their first-round playoff series, taking a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. The Hurricanes dominated the game, scoring five goals in the second period to break open the game.
The Hurricanes got off to a good start, scoring two goals in the first period. Sebastian Aho opened the scoring with a power-play goal at the 9:26 mark of the period, and Teuvo Teravainen added a goal late in the period to give the Hurricanes a 2-0 lead.
The second period was all Hurricanes, as they scored five unanswered goals to take a commanding 7-1 lead. Aho scored his second goal of the game just over a minute into the period, and Teravainen added his second goal of the game shortly after. Nino Niederreiter, Jordan Staal, and Andrei Svechnikov also scored in the period to put the game out of reach.
The Devils managed to get on the board late in the third period when Nico Hischier scored a power-play goal, but it was too little too late as the Hurricanes held on for the 6-1 victory.
The Hurricanes have now taken a 3-1 lead in the series and are one win away from advancing to the second round. They will look to close out the series in Game 5 on Wednesday night in Carolina. The Hurricanes have been dominant in this series, outscoring the Devils 17-6 in four games. If they can continue their strong play, they should be able to close out the series and move on to the next round.