Schedule and 2001 Results
Regular Season Records: New Jersey 48-19-12-3=111pts, Carolina 38-32-9-3=88pts
Game 1 on Thursday, 12 April: Carolina loses at New Jersey, 5-1
Game 2 on Sunday, 15 April: Carolina loses at New Jersey, 2-0
Game 3 on Tuesday, 17 April: New Jersey wins at Carolina, 4-0
Game 4 on Wednesday, 18 April: New Jersey loses at Carolina in OT, 3-2
Game 5 on Friday, 20 April: Carolina wins at New Jersey, 3-2
Game 6 on Sunday, 22 April: New Jersey wins at Carolina, 5-1

OVERALL SUBSTANCE: New Jersey defeats Carolina WWWLLW:
The six-game WWWLLW victory by New Jersey over Carolina is the 2nd in NHL Prelim round best-of-7 series, the 5th in NHL best-of-7 series (all rounds), and the 12th in NHL, NBA, or MLB best-of-7 series. In three of the eight 2001 NHL Prelim series did a team take a 3-games-nil lead: Two of those three series ended in sweeps, and Jersey won the third in six games; as such, teams taking a 3-games-nil lead in MLB, NBA, and NHL best-of-7 series now have a formidable 220-2 (.991) series record.

SERIES NOTES: Game 6: New Jersey defeats Carolina 5-goals-1 to win series 823, 4-games-2; New Jersey had had an NHL-low 0-4 record in best-of-7 Prelim-round Game 6 action (on the road) prior to this series, while Carolina falls to 0-2 in best-of-7 Prelim-round Game 6 action. New Jersey now has a 6-6 best-of-7 Prelim-round series record, while Carolina now has an 0-2 best-of-7 Prelim-round series record (the Hartford Whalers' record in such series was 0-6) . . . Game 5: Carolina defeats the Devils in New Jersey 3-goals-2 to render series 823 3-games-2; traditionally, the team leading WWWL in the best-of-7 series has a greater-than-80% historical victory probability in Game 5 (and thus the series), which lends import to the Carolina Game 5 victory; the New Jersey record in best-of-7 Game 5 Prelim round playoff action falls to 7-4, while Carolina's improves to 1-1 (the Hartford Whalers were 1-4 in best-of-7 Prelim round Game 5s) -- those seven Jersey victories in Prelim round Game 5 ties the Toronto Maple Leafs for an NHL-high in that category, although the Devils lost their opportunity to take over the lead in that category . . . Game 4: Carolina prolongs series 823 by defeating New Jersey 3-goals-2 in overtime to reduce the Jersey series lead to 3-games-1; Carolina evens its franchise Game 4 best-of-7 record at 1-1, while the Devils' franchise Game 4 best-of-7 record falls to 2-5 . . . Game 3: New Jersey defeats Carolina 4-goals-nil in Raleigh, NC to take a 3-games-nil lead in series 823; the Game 3 road shutout in an NHL best-of-7 series (after two home games) by New Jersey is the biggest since Colorado shutout the Canucks in Vancouver 4-goals-nil in their 1996 NHL best-of-7 Prelim round series; New Jersey has allowed only one goal in the first three games of the series -- the last time in a best-of-7 series that an NHL team allowed only one goal through the first three games was in 1994, by the New York Rangers in its best-of-7 Prelim round match-up vs. the New York Islanders; Carolina's Prelim round best-of-7 series Game 3 record falls to 1-1 (Hartford was 2-4 in best-of-7 Prelim round Game 3 action), while the Devils improve to 7-5 . . . Game 2: New Jersey defeats Carolina 2-0 to take a 2-0 series lead; the Devils improve their best-of-7 Game 2 record (all rounds) to 15-8, while that of Carolina falls to 1-1; prior to today in best-of-7 NHL Prelim round action, Carolina was tied with Tampa Bay for the best franchise Game 2 winning percentage at 1.000 (each team was 1-0; the Hurricanes' Hartford history is not considered) . . . Game 1: In defeating Carolina 5-1 on Thursday, New Jersey posted its first four-goal Game 1 victory since Game 1 of the 2000 NHL Stanley Cup Finals vs. Dallas; in best-of-7 playoff series, NHL teams winning by four goals in Game 1 (all rounds) have a series record of 29-6 . . . Pre-series: Carolina enters only its second best-of-7 playoff series, having lost its first to Boston in series 775 (in the 1999 NHL Prelim round); as the Hartford Whalers, the franchise had a best-of-7 NHL Prelim playoff series record of 0-6 (the worst of any NHL franchise) and an best-of-7 NHL overall playoff series record of 0-7 (the worst overall record of any NHL, NBA, or MLB franchise); series 823 is the 23rd best-of-7 NHL playoff series for the New Jersey Devils, whose best-of-7 Game 1 record was only 1-8 through the 1994 NHL best-of-7 Quarterfinals, but 10-3 since; the 23-point regular season advantage New Jersey held over Carolina is the 3rd-largest regular season point advantage New Jersey has held over a best-of-7 playoff opponent (27 points over Montreal in a winning effort in the 1997 NHL Prelim round (series 723); 24 points over Ottawa in a losing effort in the 1998 NHL Prelim round (series 748)); in best-of-7 NHL playoff history from 1939 through 2000, the team with the 23-point regular season advantage vs. a playoff opponent had a 6-3 series record in best-of-7 series vs. that opponent; series 823 is the first best-of-7 series between the Devils and either the Hurricanes or the Whalers.