Hurricanes End Devils’ Streak

RALEIGH, N.C. — Two lucky bounces, a couple of opportunities on the power play, and the Carolina Hurricanes were off and running.

The New Jersey Devils? They simply got out of the way.

“We had our legs today, guys were skating well,” Carolina center Eric Staal said. “That’s our game.”

Ray Whitney scored two fortuitous goals, rookie Cam Ward got his first career playoff shutout and the Hurricanes ended New Jersey’s 15-game winning streak with a 6-0 victory Saturday in the opener of the Eastern Conference semifinal series.

It was the first loss for the Devils since March 26 -- they won the final 11 games of the regular season on the way to the Atlantic Division title, then swept the New York Rangers in the first round. The winning streak tied the longest in NHL history that encompassed the regular season and playoffs.