GAME 2 Devils 2 Hurricanes 0

It’s been like a spirited practice, and at the end yesterday, target practice. Now, the Stanley Cup champs will be disappointed with anything less than a sweep of this mismatch.

They refused to declare victory, but what Scott Stevens did to Shane Willis in the final seconds wasn’t the only burial the Devils gave Carolina in a 2-0 whitewash yesterday. They head to Raleigh for Games 3 and 4 tomorrow and Wednesday with the 2-0 series lead that has always stood up for them. They are aiming now for a second straight first-round sweep, and all they’ve done is dominate each game by massive margins.

They don’t even seem overly concerned at the change of venue, heading down to where this team last lost a road game, back on Feb. 23, before winning its final 10 away to tie the NHL record.

“Interesting, but the situation is very different,” Bobby Holik said.

The difference is that these Devils are not the injury-decimated squad of February, but a team that has made Carolina appear lucky to even score one goal in two games at the Meadowlands.

“We did our job,” said Martin Brodeur after his ninth career playoff shutout. “We’re supposed to win the first two games at home to keep home-ice advantage. Now our job is to win one game there.

“Hopefully the first game.”

If there is a wild card in the deck, it could be the explosive decking Stevens gave Willis. It was one of the Devil captain’s trademark crushers, an open-ice slam at the blue line when the Rookie of the Year candidate had his head down. At that stage, it may have been unnecessary, but some things have to be taken when presented, some injuries added to insults.

Too late yesterday, and probably too late for this series, the Hurricanes objected to the hammering administered by Stevens, and probably moreso, by the Devils in the previous 119:48.

“We,” Hurricanes coach Paul Maurice said, “play better angry.”

Any different mood would have to be an improvement.

“I’m sure they’re going to be upset. If they’re thinking about me, that’s fine. The more they’re thinking about me, the less focus they’ll have on the rest of the game,” Stevens said, daring the Hurricanes to bring it on.

The Hurricanes don’t seem to have the gorillas to turn this series into a goonfest, although that may be their only chance. Over the first two periods of the two games, when issues were being contested, they have been outshot 52-21 and outscored 5-0.

“We’re just not generating the offense we need to,” Maurice understated.

Larry Robinson didn’t even seem concerned about matchups, a coach’s main prerogative in the playoffs. He allowed the ‘Canes to act as if the Meadowlands was the Raleigh Entertainment and Sports Arena, and watched his players thrive against Maurice’s choices.

“I really didn’t go for as many matchups as I wanted to, only because I prefer to see how we would respond, especially since we’re going into their building and I know I’m not going to be able to get any matchups I want,” Robinson said.

Robinson’s no-match strategy also eased some of the burden on some defensive workhorses for the back-to-back pair in Raleigh. The Devil coach left the Hurricanes with virtually nothing to cling to, hope-wise.

His players, who haven’t given the Hurricanes much on the ice, wouldn’t even give them anything to tack on the wall.

“The third game, especially when you have home ice, really decides what’s going to happen,” John Madden said.

This will be the sixth time the Devils have been in this position, and they’ve lost Game 3 twice, to the 1995 Bruins (won in five) and the 1995 Flyers (won in six). They swept the 1995 Red Wings and last year’s Panthers, and went up 3-0 on the 1997 Canadiens before winning in five.

The common thread, of course, is that they’ve won each series.

Robinson altered the matchups despite his team’s dominating opening game triumph, getting Scott Gomez’s line more into the action. And for the second straight game, that line opened the scoring.

This time, it was Alexander Mogilny putting the Devils in front after only 4:16 of play. Gomez came off the bench for his second shift flying against Glen Wesley, who poked the puck away. Sergei Brylin, who scored the first goal Thursday, retrieved the puck at the end boards, went behind the net and centered in front for Mogilny, alone and batting his stick on the ice, calling for the puck, which he promptly put under Arturs Irbe.

Mogilny scored only four playoff goals last year, but erupted for 43 this regular season, tops on the team, and scored the first goal seven times, tied with Patrik Elias for the team lead in that department.

Sean O’Donnell was credited with his first goal as a Devil at 2:32 of the second when his long right point shot found the short side on Irbe. O’Donnell had two career playoff goals with the Kings and four goals with Minnesota this season before coming to the Devils for Willie Mitchell March 4.

Brodeur’s shutout was preserved when Willis shot over the net on a third-period breakaway, one that O’Donnell will hear about giving up. While the Hurricanes outshot the Devils 8-7 in the third, it didn’t seem to matter.

Robinson didn’t see it that way, however.

“I hope for our sake that we play much better on the road,” Robinson said. “The third period was some of the worst we’ve played.”

And still, Carolina couldn’t do anything.