Sunday afternoon, the New Jersey Devils look to kick off the playoffs on the right note by defeating the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 1. The Devils lost their final game of the regular season to Detroit while the Hurricanes lost their final game in Ottawa.
The Devils ended the regular season 42-33-7, which had them third in the Metropolitan Division. The Hurricanes ended the regular season with a record of 47-30-5, which had them second in the division and gave them home ice in this series.
Match Overview
Both of these teams ended the season on sour notes. The Devils lost four of their final five games, all to teams outside the playoffs. Meanwhile, Carolina lost seven of their final eight, including their final three. However, both teams played fairly well in their losing stretches to end the season. From April 4 to the end of the regular season, when the Canes went 1-6-1, they ranked second in the NHL in Corsi-for percentage (CF%) at 58.46% and 11th in expected goals percentage (xG%) at 53.65. In the Devils 1-4-0 stretch to end the season beginning on April 8, until the end of the season, they ranked first in CF% at 60.28 and fourth in xG% at 59.41.
We all know the Devils injuries going into the postseason. We know for certain Jack Hughes won’t play until the fall, and head coach Sheldon Keefe said it would be a surprise if we see Jonas Siegenthaler in this series. However, getting Dougie Hamilton back to play big time minutes is huge. The Hurricanes are fully healthy, with all of their regulars set to play to begin this series.
Lines and Pairings
Devils
Forwards
Noesen-Hischier-Bratt
Haula-Mercer-Meier
Cotter-Glass-Sprong
Palat-Dowling-Bastian
Defense
Hughes-Pesce
Dumoulin-Kovacevic
Dillon-Hamilton
Goalies
Markstrom
Allen
Hurricanes
Forwards
Jarvis-Aho-Blake
Hall-Kotkaniemi-Svechnikov
Martinook-Staal-Stankoven
Carrier-Jankowski-Roslovic
Defense
Slavin-Burns
Orlov-Chatfield
Gostisbehere-Walker
Goalies
Andersen
Kochetkov
Keys to the Game
Playoff Performers
The Devils have a plethora of playoff experience on this roster. There is, of course, Ondrej Palat, who leads all Devils in playoff games, goals, and points. Palat has 101 in 150 games which has him 14th among active players. He has also won two Stanley Cups with the Lightning in 2020 and 2021. Another two-time cup champion on the roster is Brian Dumoulin, who won back-to-back with Pittsburgh in 2016 and 2017. He has 25 points in 81 career playoff games.
The Devils have three other cup champions on the roster, although they played a combined 24:28 on their respective team’s cup runs. All of that time is from Jake Allen, who won with the 2019 Blues. Paul Cotter and Kurtis MacDermid, won cups with the 2023 Golden Knights and 2022 Avalanche, respectively, but neither of them touched the ice in those years, or any year, during the postseason. That means that Cotter and possibly MacDermid will play their first career playoff games in the coming weeks having already hoisted Lord Stanley.
Nothing to Lose
Before this series begins a reminder should be sent out to Devils fans; losing in the first round would be extremely frustrating, but this is only the second time the team has made a postseason appearance in the last seven years. Take in this highly competitive hockey, and if the team falls they still have their young talented core for next year that will hopefully include a healthy Jack Hughes. As the heavy underdogs here they really have nothing to lose.
There’s a quote from the Pixar film Monster’s University that is fitting for this series with everyone picking Carolina: “After you lose, no one will remember you” “Maybe. But when you lose, nobody will let you forget it.” Just something to keep in mind.
Where To Watch
Game 1 is slated for a 3:00 pm ET puck drop at the Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. It can be fond nationally televised on ESPN.