With the regular season having concluded, hockey fans the world over are glued to the feeds of their favourite teams to follow the scores and all the storylines that come with the postseason. Here at Last Word on Hockey, we are no different in this excitement. With each series of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs, our team will be reviewing and previewing the games we all want the saucy details on. So, grab your M&M’s and popcorn buckets and buckle up, folks. We are in for one wild ride as we dive into analysis on this historic playoff rivalry matchup.
For a long time, the Carolina Hurricanes and New Jersey Devils held an incredibly tense rivalry. However, as the years went on and teams underwent changes, the flame began to burn out. But as many fans of either team recognize, something this year has sparked between the two. The first-round series between the Hurricanes and Devils is bound to be entertaining. Since they entered their relocation eras, they have seen more of each other in the playoffs than a lot of others have. The Devils are tied with the Boston Bruins for being the team the Hurricanes have matched up with the most. And for the Hurricanes, they are behind only the New York Rangers in the Devils’ most-played teams in the post-season. With the absence of the classic “Battle of the Hudson River”, the Hurricanes are truly their next best thing.
Carolina Hurricanes vs New Jersey Devils 2024-25 Recap
Early Season Rivalry at its Finest
The season series between the Hurricanes and Devils contained perhaps the most exciting games the teams played this season. Fast-paced action and high physicality were the themes as the two duked it out for those oh-so-desirable Metropolitan Division points. Their first meeting was only the Hurricanes’ second game of the season, a season which started on a rather sour note after a 4-1 loss four nights before. Meanwhile, New Jersey was riding high, already having eight points in the standings before facing Carolina. The game remained rather tame, ultimately leading to a 4-2 win in the Hurricanes’ favour, with Rookie Jackson Blake (whose blossoming skills have now landed him on the top line) scoring his first Career NHL Goal.
The second game saw the same results, but reversed, as backup goaltender Spencer Martin conceded four goals to the Devils as the Hurricanes petered out in front of him, getting their first tastes of the breakdowns and incohesion they would face for the next two months.
Fireworks Ignite in Post-Christmas Clash
Of course, they faced each other two more times. It was a back-to-back for the first two games after Christmas. The first game went very similarly to the previous, with New Jersey pulling another heavy 4-2 home win over Carolina once again. Physicality factored in heavily, as both teams posted 20-plus hits throughout the game.
The very next day, the two teams got down to business. The first period was notably slow, with the second picking up pace before an explosive third as the Hurricanes put four in the net in a row before claiming a 5-2 win. However, one of the biggest takeaways from how that final game was played was the sheer amount of physicality, doubling the hit count from the night before for 41 apiece. The third saw Timo Meier ejected for a knee-to-knee collision against Martin Nečas and Dmitry Orlov mixing it up after Erik Haula crashed him into the boards—a hit which resulted in a broken nose.
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Head-to-Head Statistics Illustrates a Fascinating Story
Lurking beneath the surface of any given game are the numbers. The stats which attempt to predict the outcomes of the future by dissecting the games of the past. In individual Stanley Cup Playoff stats, the Devils have historically struggled in round one. Since relocating from Colorado, only 47.83% of their First Round series have ended in success. Their most recent playoff run in 2023 saw them break into the second round for the first time since 2012, ironically being defeated by the Hurricanes. Meanwhile, Carolina has a 72.73% success rate of advancing into round two since their own relocation from Hartford, Connecticut.
Throughout the season series, one of the biggest things was possession in the offensive zone. Carolina dominated in this factor, with nearly 10 minutes more in New Jersey’s end than vice versa, per Sportlogiq. Keeping the puck out of their own end is one of the Hurricanes’ biggest advantages going into this matchup. Since the 4 Nations Face-Off, Carolina has led the league in this factor (with a lot of credit going to their top defensive pairing).
Keys to New Jersey Devils Victory vs Carolina Hurricanes
Hell on Wheels
This season has certainly been a wild one for the Devils, but an exciting one for their fans. And especially exciting for fans in other cities, as the Devils have truly been road warriors in their 82 games. The Hurricanes will have the home-ice advantage for this series, but that may be a good thing for New Jersey. On the road this season, they have notched a 24-15-2 record. It is significantly better than their home record, which is just 18-18-5.
While when up against the Hurricanes specifically, they each won their respective home games, but it is encouraging to see such a strong road game for the Devils overall.
Goaltending
In the net, New Jersey edges out Carolina in overall goaltending statistics. They have nearly doubled the Hurricanes in shutouts, with nine total. The Devils have also allowed 10 goals less than the Hurricanes, a 2.51 Goals Against Average, .904% Save Percentage, and 9.6 Goals Saved Above Average. New Jersey’s backstops are one of their strongest components going into this series. Considering Carolina’s aforementioned o-zone game, New Jersey’s netminders could be the top thing to either make or break their team in these games.
Keys to Carolina Hurricanes Victory vs New Jersey Devils
Home-Ice Advantage
Carolina has been a beast at home, achieving a solid 31-9-1 home record. With their record, they have led the league alongside the Los Angeles Kings for most wins at home. Last year, the NHLPA held a vote for the most difficult arenas for visiting teams. Out of the 558 votes collected, 16.31% of the players selected Lenovo Center (then PNC Arena), ranking it as the second-hardest rink to play in. The poll put them behind only the Vegas Golden Knights’ T-Mobile Arena, which held 31.36% of the vote. With the home-ice advantage in this playoff series, the Hurricanes have a lot of energy to draw from the residents of the “Loudest House”.
Play the Full 60
If the Hurricanes wish to make it past the First Round, they will need to focus on consistency throughout each period. In the regular season, they often found themselves on the losing side of the game due to this issue. Whether it was sluggishness in the first period, letting off the gas in the second, or burning out in the third, this frequently cost them matches. Full team cohesion throughout each period will benefit them, as it has in the past. They will need to ensure their 200-foot game doesn’t fizzle out, either. Stay aggressive in the neutral zone, be offensive in New Jersey’s zone, and help out their netminders in the defensive zone.
Carolina Hurricanes vs New Jersey Devils Predictions and Prop Bets
With the information and statistics both historically and presently, the Carolina Hurricanes seem to be the ones most likely to claim victory versus the New Jersey Devils in this round. Of course, there are elements that have changed in the time since then, such as a slight decline in goaltending and consistency. Additionally, with star centreman Jack Hughes out of the lineup, things could be a bit dicey for New Jersey. Nonetheless, teams hit different gears in the playoffs that we don’t often see displayed in the regular season. Moreover, sometimes that gear is missed and teams find themselves in a tailspin towards defeat. Anything can happen and hockey, especially playoff hockey, can be extremely unpredictable.
For potential round-one heroes, I would keep an eye on Seth Jarvis and Jackson Blake for Carolina. Both have been phenomenal this season and play noticeably well against the Devils. As for New Jersey, Jesper Bratt and Stefan Noesen would be the top choices. In the series against the Hurricanes, at least one of them found their way onto the scoresheet.
Prediction: Carolina wins series 4-2
Main photo by: James Guillory-Imagn Images
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