Right back at it again. The New Jersey Devils roll into Game 4 against the Carolina Hurricanes coming off a big victory in Game 3. This is an enormous game, as they can tie the series and go back to Raleigh, North Carolina dead even.
Matchup Overview
Credit to the Devils, who have overcome major adversity not just overall in the series, but in Game 3. This is a team that did not have Luke Hughes or Brendon Dillon play, and also lost Jonathan Kovacevic and were down to just five defenseman. It’ll remain to be seen what the status for Kovacevic is, but credit to the Devils for persevering.
The Devils got smothered in the first two games, but played arguably one of their more complete games in Game 3. The Devils were a strong team during five-on-five play, which you don’t see often against this Hurricanes club. While the shot attempts, were quite close during five-on-five, the Devils held the edge in shots on goal and dominated the expected goals share. Their relentless effort and pursuit was full go for most of this game. The second period was their only truly the only tough period.
Special teams has been a theme for this series that has not benefitted the Devils at all. The Devils are 0-for-10 in this series when having the man advantage and the Hurricanes penalty kill remains consistent. The Hurricanes have three power play goals, including two in Game 3 that made a difference.
Projected Lineup
New Jersey Devils
Forwards
Palat-Hischier-Meier
Haula-Mercer-Bratt
Cotter-Glass-Noesen
Tatar-Dowling-Bastian
Defense
Pesce-Hamilton
Dumoulin-Kovacevic
Siegenthaler-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
The Devils Power Play
You almost rather just decline the power play and continue play at five-on-five at this given rate. The Devils’ power play does not have an answer for this Hurricanes penalty kill and they’ve struggled to set anything up and generate good chances. Being 0-for-10 is pitiful and being able to capitalize is a huge boost and can make a difference in the game.
The Devils have allowed a goal while being on the power play, which isn’t great. Of their 26 shot attempts with the power play, the Devils have ten coming from the high-danger areas. Five of their 12 shots are also from that area, so they’ll want to keep getting looks and hopefully capitalize.
Take Advantage of Home Ice
The Devils will want to take advantage of home ice and make sure they do everything to not go into Game 5 facing elimination. Lenovo Center is not an easy place to play nor an easy place to win and the Hurricanes know this.
The Hurricanes are known for struggling on the road in the playoffs. They are 2-4- on the road in their last six road playoff games and are 5-14 on the road since the 2022 playoff season.
If the Devils play like they did in Game 3 and get the goaltending from Jacob Markstrom, they’ll be in good shape.
How to Watch
Today’s puck drop is at 3:30 pm ET and can be found on TBS.