Frederik Andersen said four words Rod Brind’Amour hoped to hear before Sunday’s Stanley Cup playoff game with the New Jersey Devils: “I want the net.”

The veteran goalie got the net for a fourth straight game against the Devils, but Pyotr Kochetkov was needed in it before it was over at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., after a scary incident that could have — but didn’t — derail the Carolina Hurricanes.

Andersen was knocked out of Game 4 early in the second period after a collision with Devils’ forward Timo Meier that left Andersen down and seemingly dazed. In came Kochetkov, who allowed an early goal but stayed poised and stood tall as the Canes took a 5-2 victory for a 3-1 lead in the first-round series.

Power forward Andrei Svechnikov had a hat trick, his second goal on a power play, for the Canes and defenseman Jaccob Slavin scored on a hustling play that ended with a spectacular shot. The Canes built a 3-0 lead and were in front 3-1 when Andersen went out.

Devils captain Nico Hischier had the first New Jersey goal and Meier, having sent Andersen out of the game, soon scored on Kochetkov. But Canes defenseman Brent Burns, who had a goal and assist, scored for a 4-2 lead with 5:46 left in regulation.

The Devils pulled goalie Jacob Markstrom for an extra attacker, but Svechnikov completed the hat trick with an empty-netter. Svechnikov, physical and active all game, had a team high-six shots and was in on five hits.

Andersen, dogged by injuries throughout his career, was ruled out of the game and his status moving forward in the series is uncertain. Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour said Andersen would be further evaluated Monday in Raleigh, N.C., after a collision that Devils coach Sheldon Keefe called “pretty incidental.”

Kochetkov faced 15 shots and stopped 14 as the Devils tried to make a strong push to tie the score, get a comeback win and square the series, which returns to Raleigh for Game 5 on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. ET.

After their double-overtime loss Friday in Game 3, the Canes, to a man, said they were after a better, more assertive start Sunday. They talked about it, then they went out and got it, taking a 2-0 lead in the opening period.

The Canes, with some new-look lines, quickly established the forecheck, keeping the puck in New Jersey’s end.

“When we’re on, we’re forechecking hard and not allowing teams to breathe,” Slavin said.

Svechnikov, moved on Aho’s line with Jackson Blake, made it a 1-0 game 52 seconds into the opening period — the fourth-fastest goal to start a playoff game for the Canes.

Taking a pass from Burns, Svechnikov quickly turned and fired from the top of the right circle. With two defenders flanking Blake in the slot, Markstrom could not track the shot.

“It has been kind of a hard season for me but now the playoff time is kind of my time,” Svechnikov said. “I love this time of the year.”

If that one caught Markstrom by surprise, Slavin’s goal was a thing of beauty, on an astounding shot that seemingly took everybody in the arena by surprise.

Slavin first knocked the puck away from Devils forward Stefan Noesen at the wall near the New Jersey blue line. Skating in, Slavin got off a shot that found a small crevice over Markstrom’s right shoulder for the short-side score.

“We had a little O-zone time there and I knew they were tired and just trying to get the puck out,” Slavin said. “I just knocked it out of the air. I just tried to throw it on the net and got lucky.”

Leading 2-0 late in the first, the Canes went on the power play after a penalty against Devils defenseman Dougie Hamilton. They didn’t score before the end of the period, but did early in the second as Svechnikov knocked in his second of the day for the power-play goal.

Hischier shook the home fans out of their slumber with a goal to make it a 3-1 game. After a scramble in the Canes zone, Hischier corralled a loose puck and zipped a shot inside the left post at 2:45 of the period.

Then came the Andersen injury.

Meier, with Svechnikov behind him, made a move to the top of the crease and then into the crease. He put his left shoulder into Andersen, who fell back into the net as play was stopped at 4:19 of the period.

The referees huddled and then assessed a five-minute major, which can trigger a video review. After the review, the penalty was rescinded.

“It was a tough moment for us,” Kochetkov said. “I just tried to focus. I needed to feel the puck, and after a couple of shots the game came to me.”

With Kochetkov in and trying to get a quick feel for the game, Meier scored with a spinning shot off the wall to bring the Devils within 3-2 at 7:34 of the second. But Kochetkov stopped seven of eight shots in the period after coming in.

“You can’t ask for a tougher situation than that, to give up a dirt-ball goal,” Brind’Amour said. “But to bounce back ... to me that could have just crumbled in a minute, but we know about him that he has a great ability to just move on and get right back to it

“Obviously he played great after that. We didn’t give up a ton, which was key, but when we did he made some good saves and that’s obviously what you need.”

After some five-on-five play in Game 3 that Canes captain Jordan Staal called “below average,” Brind’Amour decided on line change for Game 4.

Svechnikov replaced Seth Jarvis on the Aho line as Jarvis moved to Jesperi Kotkanimei’s line. William Carrier replaced Logan Stankoven on the Staal line, and Mark Jankowski made his playoff debut for the Canes replacing Jack Roslovic as the fourth-line center with Stankoven and Mark Robinson as his wingers.

The Canes wanted to exploit a Devils D corps that was missing injured Luke Hughes, Brenden Dillon and Johnathan Kovacevic.

Of note

Defenseman Alexander Nikishin has not been used in the playoffs, but he’s now available. The Russian’s contract has officially been registered with the NHL, the team said, allowing him to make his NHL debut, if needed.

Nikishin’s contract was not signed and completed until after the Chicago Wolves had ended their AHL season, a move that would have freed him to play for the Wolves. The Wolves were eliminated Friday from the Calder Cup playoffs by the Rockford IceHogs.

Nikishin joined the Canes after the KHL playoffs in Russia and has practiced with the team.

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