The New Jersey Devils came home in their second-round series with the Carolina Hurricanes knowing they needed to score more than the combined two goals they had in Games 1 and 2 in Raleigh.

Home ice proved to be where the Devils’ offense stays hot.

New Jersey defeated Carolina in Game 3 on Sunday after exploding by eight goals to the Hurricanes’ four in what seemed like a must-play game for them.

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Damon Severson of the New Jersey Devils celebrates his goal with teammates during the second period of Game 3 of the second round of the playoffs against the Carolina Hurricanes at the Prudential Center on May 7, 2023 in Newark, New Jersey. (Elsa/Getty Images)

He started with three unanswered scores in the first period, one that sent Devils fans at the Prudential Center wild.

Timo Meier finally got his first Stanley Cup playoff goal after a perfect pass between Jack Hughes’ legs behind the Carolina net saw Meier wrap the puck to the front and drive it past Freddie Anderson.

Hughes then found the back of the net after a mid-period Devils odd man run that resulted in a high shot off his left stick. It was Hughes’ fourth of the playoffs.

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And just a few minutes later, in a shorthanded opportunity, Michael McLeod once again found himself on goal thanks to assists from captain Nico Hischier and John Marino. He also scored behind in Game 7 against the New York Rangers.

That set the tone for this game and it went even further when Hischier joined the scoring party with his first of the playoffs 53 seconds into the second period.

The Hurricanes’ Sebastian Aho responded quickly to finally put Carolina on the board with his fifth goal, but Damon Severson would get that goal back later in the second when he ran to the net and chose the top left shelf under the bar.

Vitek Vanecek saves the puck

Vitek Vanecek #41 of the New Jersey Devils saves against Jordan Martinook of the Carolina Hurricanes during the third period of Game 3 in the second round of the playoffs at the Prudential Center on May 7, 2023 in Newark, New Jersey. (Josh Lavallee/NHLI via Getty Images)

That goal came against Pyotr Kochetkov, who took over from Anderson after Hischier’s goal.

Severson was also assisted by fellow defensive lineman Luke Hughes, the brother of Jack Hughes, who started when head coach Lindy Huff wanted to shake things up at the back after the Hurricanes scored a combined 11 goals in Games 1 and 2 at home.

After Jordan Martinook scored on a penalty kick, the second period clock would go to zero with the Devils still in a commanding position at 5-2, but it clearly wasn’t enough.

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Miles Wood, Jack Hughes and Ondrej Palat scored a third-half goal, while Jordan Staal and Seth Jarvis also added to the score with goals each.

In the end, the combined 12 goals turned out in the Devils’ favor and certainly changed the history of this series.

The Devils were also down two games to none against the Rangers in the first round before bouncing back with three straight wins in games 3, 4 and 5. Obviously, they’d love to do the same in this series if they can.

Michael McLeod celebrates the goal

Michael McLeod of the New Jersey Devils celebrates his goal during the first period of Game 3 in the second round of the playoffs at the Prudential Center on May 7, 2023 in Newark, New Jersey. (Elsa/Getty Images)

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The Devils and Hurricanes will play Game 4 at the Prudential Center on Tuesday at 7 p.m.