Well, we’ve seen this script before. In the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the New Jersey Devils found themselves down 2-0 in the series against the New York Rangers. Now, they find themselves down 2-0 to the Carolina Hurricanes, but the difference is they are heading home to try and right the ship. The Devils did claw back in that series against the Rangers and have a good opportunity to do the same with home ice. 

Matchup Overview

Nothing is easy about facing the Hurricanes inside the Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Hurricanes were 31-9-1 during the regular season on home ice and they are a much better team on home ice than on the road. Furthermore, they were 16-24-4 on the road during the regular season. What could help benefit the Devils is that the Hurricanes have a road record in the postseason (5-13) from 2022-24. In the grand scheme of things it doesn’t necessarily mean much, but it certainly is something the Devils can capitalize on. 

Entering this series without Jack Hughes was always going to be a challenge from an offensive standpoint. So far, the Devils have managed to score just two goals in the first two games of the series and did put forth a better effort in the second game compared to the first. During five-on-five play, the Devils have generated 4.56 expected goals through the first two games and have scored just one, so the finishing ability needs to shine through more and more. The one nice boost of confidence is the players you’d expect to score are scoring, with Jesper Bratt and Nico Hischier finding the back of the net. 

The Hurricanes (to no surprise) have been the stronger team at five-on-five through the first two games and have a Corsi for percentage of 54.13 and have outshot the Devils 55-39. The Devils will need to improve in this regard and take the attack to them. 

Jacob Markstrom has played well enough for the Devils despite allowing five goals in the first two games. He has 3.23 goals saved above expected and also boasting a .930 save percentage. The Devils will need him to be a rock in net in order to slow down the bleeding and get back into the series, because right now they have no answers for Frederik Andersen. 

Projected Lineups 

New Jersey Devils 

Forwards 

Palat-Hischier-Meier

Haula-Mercer-Bratt

Cotter-Glass-Noesen

Tatar-Dowling-Bastian

Defense

Pesce-Hamilton

Dumoulin-Kovacevic

Cholowski-Nemec

Goalies 

Markstrom 

Allen

Carolina Hurricanes 

Forwards 

Jarvis-Aho-Blake

Hall-Kotkaniemi-Svechnikov

Martinook-Staal-Stankoven

Robinson-Roslovic-Carrier

Defense 

Slavin-Burns

Orlov-Chatfield

Gostisbehere-Walker

Goalies 

Andersen 

Kochetkov

What to Watch For 

Devils Needing to Solve Frederik Andersen

The 2022-23 season saw Frederik Andersen assert himself as a backbone for the Hurricanes during that playoff run. Andersen was a key component to the Hurricanes reaching the Eastern Conference Finals, having a 1.83 goals against average and 5.7 goals saved above expected. He was dialed in and for the Devils they are seeing a very dialed in Andersen through the first two games. 

He was hardly tested in Game 1, with the Devils struggling to get shots on goal and only had seven through the first 25 minutes of the game. Through two games, Andersen has a 1.00 goals against average, a .960 save percentage, and 3.3 goals saved above expected. It’s been a challenge to get by him, so the Devils do need to capitalize on the chances they do get because the Hurricanes are a suffocating group defensively. 

The Devils need to find ways to get to the high-danger areas. The Hurricanes have given up just 12 high-danger shots through the first two games. The Devils need to find ways to get to those areas and make life hard for him. Andersen finished the regular season with an .810 high danger save percentage. Not bad. 

Go to the front of the net. Block his vision. Find ways to get a greasy goal because he’s been quite unbeatable. 

Timo Meier Being an X-Factor

Jesper Bratt is silencing the doubters that he can’t perform in the playoffs. Glad that’s been put to rest. With the team down 2-0 in the series, the Devils will need other players to step up to the plate. A player that can be a huge x-factor in this series returning home is none other than Timo Meier. 

Meier is no stranger to scoring big goals and scoring goals in general. But after his blunder in Game 2 with the net open despite a bouncing puck, it brought back memories to Game 5 against the Hurricanes in 2023 where he missed a wide open net. The Devils need goal scoring and they should be counting on Meier to put the puck in the net and give the Devils a boost offensively. 

It’s not for a lack of impact. During five-on-five play, Meier has the fourth best expected goals for percentage (xGF%) on the team with 57.86. His 1.85 expected goals for is the best among forwards and he’s helping create scoring chances. 

Meier does have the most shot attempts individually, most high danger attempts, most individual expected goals, just held pointless. 

The stats sheet might be blank, but the effort is certainly there for Meier and it’s only a matter of time before he breaks the dam wide open and produces. Because the Devils need it. 

How to Watch 

Friday’s puck drop is at 8:00 pm ET and can be found on TNT and the Max App.