The Hurricanes earned it — the game and the expected-goals battle both.
J. Markstrom played a strong game for New Jersey—1.3 goals above expected on 29 saves (0.879 SV%)—and still gave up five in a 5-2 loss. The Hurricanes' dominance was complete: 74% of 5v5 expected goals (5.28–1.90), 64% of shot attempts (34–19). Those metrics translate into precisely this result.
The Devils' few dangerous chances came at 0.045 xG per shot—quality wasn't the problem. Carolina's was 0.073 per shot, a decisively higher rate that explains the gap. High-danger chances finished 8–1. Once you're generating that much better looks on top of higher volume, the game is decided at 5v5.
The rush compounded matters. Carolina scored five of 36 rush attempts, lethality born of relentless offensive pressure. New Jersey scored twice on 24—irrelevant against that volume. Efficiency without enough chances is background noise.
B. Bussi made 17 of 19 saves, a quiet job behind a team controlling the game's pace and space. When a roster owns this much of the play, goaltending becomes invisible. Markstrom couldn't bridge what was never really a gap—just an absence, one team lacking the chances to stay close.