RALEIGH, N.C. – A hard pressuring Carolina Hurricanes team was a difficult test for the Devils, who despite a late push, fell 4-2. Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes had the two goals for the Devils in the loss.

The Hurricanes brought high energy and pressure from puck drop. However, Devils goaltender Jacob Markstrom had strong save after strong save to help New Jersey weather the storm in the first period and leave the first 20 minutes 0-0.

Just over a minute into the second period, Jack Hughes scored to give the Devils a 1-0 lead. Jesper Bratt and Johnathan Kovacevic picked up an assists on the play. This was Hughes’ first goal of the season after he had done a lot of positive things in the previous five games that didn’t show up on the scoresheet, head coach Sheldon Keefe shared earlier in the week.

Following the Devils goal, the Hurricanes pushed back had some extended zone time which ended with a huge save by Markstrom on Jesperi Kotkaniemi.

Seth Jarvis tied the game 1-1 halfway through the second period when he spun and shot, beating Markstrom high. Shayne Gostisbehere gave the home team their first lead of the game, 2-1, in the final minute of the second period.

The Devils were pressuring looking for the tying goal and had a strong chance with seven and half a minutes into the third period. Dougie Hamilton’s shot got through and Paul Cotter was net front pushing for the equalizer but Hurricanes goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov was able to cover the puck after several seconds.

Halfway through the third period, Jackson Blake deflected Dmitry Orlov’s shot to score, bringing Carolina’s lead to 3-1. The goal was Blake’s first in the NHL. Five minutes later the Devils were brought within one with Nico Hischier scoring on a 5-on-3 advantage to make it 3-2.

An empty net goal with a minute and a half left in the period, Sebastian Aho’s empty net goal sealed the win for the home team. The loss brings the Devils record to 4-2-0.

Here are some observations from the game:

•New Jersey’s penalty kill continues to be a big part of their push back. They stopped the Hurricanes from scoring on their only power play.

•The Devils power play has now scored in two straight games after Nico Hischier’s 5-on-3 goal.

•Coming into tonight’s game the Devils were averaging just shy of 30 shots on goal per game. In this contest, Carolina held New Jersey to seven shots in the first period and only five in the second. New Jersey had 11 shots in the final frame as they continued to push for the game’s tying goal.

•Stefan Noesen made his return to North Carolina for the first time this season after spending parts of the previous three seasons with the Hurricanes. During a timeout in teh first period, Noesen received a plenty of cheers from the home crowd.

The Devils head to Ottawa for a game against the Senators Thursday night.