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NEW JERSEY DEVILS (4-1-0) vs. HURRICANES (0-1-0)
New Jersey visits the Carolina Hurricanes for the first time this season, on the second half of a back-to-back.
Devils Team Scope:
The Devils arrive in Raleigh on a two-game win streak. Against Utah, the Devils power play found some rhythm, scoring two of the team’s three total goals on the man-advantage. To help combat Utah’s speed, the Devils brought a heavy style of play where they had 28 hits. Paul Cotter led the way with 8 while Ondrej Palat and Stefen Noesen had the second most hits at 4 each. Physicality by everyone has been a point of emphasis throughout training camp and the start of the season.
New Jersey’s penalty kill continues to show up strong, as they’ve kept opponents from scoring 93.3% of the time through five games. Jake Allen stopped all 20 shots he faced for his first shutout as a Devil.
Paul Cotter leads the Devils with four goals. Erik Haula and Stefan Noesen are tied for the team lead with four assists, while Noesen leads the Devils with six points. Seamus Casey has stood out in his first five games in the NHL as the rookie has three goals and an assist for four total points. Casey has shown poise and a high level of confidence in his play, and has been sound defensively.
The Devils will split duties between their two netminders for this back-to-back. As Jake Allen played on Monday, Jacob Markstrom will get the start against the Hurricanes.
Hurricanes Team Scope:
The Carolina Hurricanes are in a unique position as they’re only playing their second game of the season after their second game of the year, against the Florida Panthers, was postponed due to Hurricane Milton.
In their season opener, against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Nikita Kucherov’s third period, natural hat trick put the game out of reach for Carolina. Jordan Staal, who is in his 19th NHL season and his 13th with Carolina, has the lone Carolina goal this season and William Carrier has the Hurricanes only assist. Frederik Andersen played the first game of the season for Carolina and had a 2.06 goals against average, with a .905 save percentage.
Last year, Carolina had the second best power play in the NHL, scoring on 26.9% of their opportunities. In their lone game against the Lightning they didn’t score on any of their four power plays.
INJURIES
Devils:
L.Hughes (shoulder), Pesce (ankle), Hatakka (upper-body), Vilen (upper-body), Beckman (lower-body)
Hurricanes:
Lemieux (undisclosed, IR), Fast (neck, IR), Ryan (undisclosed, IR), R. Stillman (lower-body, IR)
