RALEIGH The New Jersey Devils needed just two players to dispatch the Carolina Hurricanes Sunday at PNC Arena. Mike Cammalleri registered a hat trick his first three goals of the season after being held without one for New Jersey’s first 10 games and Keith Kinkaid stopped 33 shots to lead the Devils to a 4-1 win.”I think everyone was just a step behind and made it difficult for us to create more and play the way we want to play,” center Jordan Staal said.The Devils managed just two shots in the second, but both found the back of the net. Cammalleri scored them both on Carolina goalie Eddie Lack, then capped off his sixth career hat trick with a glove side snipe at 8:30 of the third period. Andy Greene tacked on a late shorthanded empty net goal for New Jersey (5-3-3).”You’re doing something right if you give up two shots. … We need to get on the board earlier. We need a little momentum,” coach Bill Peters said.A quarter of Kinkaid’s 16 career NHL wins have come against the Hurricanes. The 27-year-old goalie improved to 4-1 in five career games against Carolina, allowing just seven goals in those outings.Nestrasil was the only Hurricanes player to solve Kinkaid, getting his first goal since Feb. 13. Nestrasil, who started the game on the fourth line but was later reunited with Staal and Joakim Nordstrom, suffered a season-ending back injury against Toronto on Feb. 25 of last season. He finished Sunday’s game with career-high eight shots on goal.”It should get better and every time he takes the ice, whether it’s a game or a practice, you get better and better,” Peters said of Nestrasil. “We need that line to be that line. We need that line to be able to go out and dominate shifts and tilt the rink a little bit. They did that for us on a consistent basis last year, and they’ve gotta get back to that so we have an identity for that line.”Nestrasil’s goal with 6:59 remaining gave Carolina (3-5-3) life, but it was too little too late to mount a comeback, even with Lack off for a sixth attacker with 4:15 remaining. Greene’s empty-netter with 55 seconds remaining iced it.Carolina went to Lack a night after Cam Ward willed the team to a shootout win in Nashville, but Lack stopped just 17 of 20 shots he faced. Carolina outshot the Devils, 34-21.Adding injury to insult, the Hurricanes lost Justin Faulk with about eight minutes remaining in the game. Peters said after the game he didn’t know the severity of the injury.The Devils and Hurricanes played a scoreless opening period, with the visitors holding an 11-5 shot advantage helped along by two power play opportunities.Carolina got three power play opportunities of their own in the second period, but the team’s struggles with the man advantage continued. Carolina finished 0-4 and has now gone four games without a power play goal.”It comes down to execution,” Peters said. “It comes down to confidence, and it comes down to all five guys doing their part. It goes a long way, obviously. If you start getting frustrated and you start taking the easy route or you think it’s going to be easy, it’s not.”The teams play again Tuesday in New Jersey.Notes: Staal played his 700th career game, earning an assist on Nestrasil’s goal. … After opening the season with a nine-game point streak, Victor Rask has been kept off the scoresheet two straight games. … With an assist on Nestrasil’s goal, second-year defenseman Noah Hanifin now has seven assists through 11 games. He finished last season with 18 in 79 games. … Lack is now 0-3-1 in five career November appearances with the Hurricanes. He has won just once in November in 12 career appearances (1-5-2).
