Carolina Hurricanes look to rebound Tuesday after 8-4 loss to New Jersey Devils

There used to be a time when Stanley Cup playoff hockey meant close-checking, low-scoring games.

This must be the nouveau NHL, at least if you have been watching the New Jersey Devils play the Carolina Hurricanes, and the Seattle Kraken face the Dallas Stars in the second round.

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It’s goals galore. The four teams have combined for 49 goals in the first three games of each series, or roughly eight goals per game.

When the two series resume on Tuesday night, the Kraken and Hurricanes will try to take 3-1 leads in their best-of-seven matchups.

Seattle is coming off a 7-2 thumping of the Stars, while the Devils, who lost the first two games in Raleigh, North Carolina, got back in their series with an 8-4 victory at the Prudential Center on Sunday.

“It has been definitely different,” Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal said, adding he could not remember the previous time he was involved in a 12-goal playoff game.

“It’s kind of the new NHL, I think, a little bit. Just finding ways to get more goals, I guess.”

Devils coach Lindy Ruff laughed at the idea that playoff hockey was changing, noting his team, the Canes and Stars are all outstanding defensive teams.

The constant in this series is taking the lead.

“You put all risk into your game and you know if you get burnt the goals are going to go up,” said Ruff, whose team was outscored 11-2 in the first two games.

HURRICANES at DEVILS, Carolina leads 2-1 (7 p.m. EDT, ESPN)

Ruff held a 25-minute practice Monday and reminded his team that Carolina is going to come back and play a much better defensive game and bring a heavy forecheck, as it did in the first two games.

New Jersey has things to clean up, too. The Devils allowed four goals, including three short-handed. Goaltender Vitek Vanecek was not sharp in his first start since Game 2 of the opening-round series.

Defenseman Ryan Graves, who missed Game 3 with an upper-body injury, practiced Monday. Ruff usually does not make lineup changes after a win so expect him to dress Smith as his seventh defenseman.

Carolina goaltender Antti Raanta was back on the ice Monday. He did not dress for the past two games because of an illness. The Finn started the first five games in the series against the Islanders. Frederik Andersen started the first three games of this series, giving up four goals on 12 shots in Game 3.