One win a season does not make, but this was a really big win for the New Jersey Devils. They went into Carolina about as down trodden as possible. They had blown leads in three straight games and in six of their first 11 games. It was rough to say the least.
Then, on Saturday night, about 24 hours since the last blown lead, they were back on the ice on the road against the Hurricanes. The Devils lost three away games by a combined score of 14-2. Now, they were taking on the clear second best team in the Metropolitan Division.