Canes power play faltered

The Carolina Hurricanes went 0-for-5 on the power play in Sunday’s 3-2 overtime loss to the New Jersey Devils in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs at the RBC Center.

No doubt, the Carolina power play was hard to watch for Hurricanes fans. The Hurricanes had trouble bringing the puck up the ice, much less keeping it deep.

“We gave it to those guys something fierce today,” Hurricanes coach Paul Maurice said. “There are things we think we can do better, clearly bringing the puck up the ice that we have to improve on. Power plays ebb and flow … We just remind them of what it is that when our power play was good, what it looks like.”

Added center Eric Staal: “Make sure we’re coming through the neutral zone with some speed and once we get it in there, take the right shot.”

Maurice had said after the All-Star break that the Hurricanes’ success, whether or not it made a playoff run, would depend on special teams. Ranked in the mid-20s in the NHL at the time, the Hurricanes did improve their power play, finishing the year ranked No. 18 in the league with an 18.7 percent success rate.

But in Game 3, in 9:08 of an advantage, including a 5-on-3 midway through the second period, the Hurricanes couldn’t get it going. In 10 power play opportunities in the first three playoff games, the Hurricanes have scored once.

The Hurricanes called a timeout during the two-man advantage but lost the faceoff.

“That takes a big chunk out of your 5 on 3,” said Maurice. “You want to get more time in the zone more and move the puck around and see if you can open up a seam or two.”

Carolina forward Tuomo Ruutu, who was on the ice for more than four minutes of power play time, said the team just has to keep a positive outlook.

“They have a good penalty kill,” said Ruutu. “We’ve just got to stay positive about what we do well and keep doing that stuff because if you get frustrated, you start doing something else you haven’t done the whole year.”