Devils Rout Canes In Game 1

New Jersey vs. Carolina
series

"It was a good start," Devils captain Scott Stevens said. "It was nice to see us come out with hunger. We skated hard. We worked hard. We played patient. We didn't give them a lot of shots. That's what I like to see. We had that hunger."

Sergei Brylin and Petr Sykora also tallied for the defending Stanley Cup champions, who had a 36-18 advantage in shots and stormed to a five-goal lead.

"There's not a lot of celebrating in our room," Devils coach Larry Robinson said. "I think everybody is concentrating and focusing on the job at hand. They know it's a long way off."

Josef Vasicek finished scoring in the third period with Carolina's only goal.

"I thought we played well through 19 minutes," said Hurricanes coach Paul Maurice. "We made a mistake and cost us a goal, and giving up that second one early in the second never gave us that time to recover and get back on our horse."