Devils vs Hurricanes part II

[Big Daddy Cane]

New Jersey is 10 up on the Rangers and 12 up on the Blue Jackets. Carolina is 11 back of Washington. It'll be official very soon.

Two teams with low expectations. New Jersey is dealing with a catastrophic injury (J. Hughes). Carolina is dealing with the fallout of an offseason cap crunch and in-season drama. One team will move on to the 2nd round regardless.

Interesting subplots:

- The Haula hex? - 3 playoff series against the Canes, 3 eliminations.
- Hamilton - Recovering faster than anticipated (Link).
- Martinook the Devils killer - 10 points in the 5 game series 2 years ago.
- Nikishin - WIth SKA on the cusp of elimination, it's almost time for one of the best prospects not in the NHL to make his debut.

 

[ucanthanzalthetruth]

I have Canes in 5 and I wouldnt be surprised if they beat Washington after tbh. If Andersen is healthy I think he could be an X-factor. Big if mind you.

 

[AhosDatsyukian]

Canes having home ice will make this incredibly tough for the Devils. I have the Canes winning their first 3 at home and 1 on the road, just not sure when that’ll come. So 5 or 6 game series. It’s really not all that different from 2 years ago. Canes are a similar caliber team even without Necas as that last series had no Svech/Patches. Devils are better than that season if healthy but missing Hughes brings that roster down quite a bit. Anything can happen though.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Canes and winning one playoff round. Name a more iconic duo.

 

[Big Daddy Cane]

Feast or famine. Carolina has possessed home ice in 7 series under Brind'Amour. They've gone up 2-0 5 times (Nashville 21, Boston 22, NYR 22, NYI 23, NYI 24) and down 0-2 twice (Tampa 21, Florida 23).

 

[Fatass]

If any year lines up good for a Canes’ playoff run it’s this one. Jersey is not very good and missing Jack Hughes. The Capitals might be a club that had a hot regular season and struggle in the playoffs. Canes need to get to the Conference Final or (imo) it’s seen as a poor playoffs for them.

 

[HockeyVirus]

Shapes up to be the most boring series of the east in round 1 IMO.

When you think

Battle of Florida
Battle of Ontario
Capitals vs Habs

I think this series is going to be kind of boring

 

[RANDOMH3RO]

Devils played the canes pretty well this season, the season series was split and all games went to the home team if I remember correctly. The devils season went the wrong way since the last they played the canes though. Scoring has been tough and they’ve got key injuries. Unless the canes finally stumble in a first round series I don’t think the devils are in a good spot. I think it’s a coin toss if Hughes, Hamilton and Siegenthaler were all available but as it is the devils are rightfully considered major underdogs without the underdog magic that a habs or sens might have in their match ups.

 

[HugeInTheShire]

I didn’t like the Devils chances with Hughes, Hamilton and Siegenthaler… I like them even less without them

 

[WarriorOfGandhi]

Canes and winning one playoff round. Name a more iconic duo.

Toronto and winning zero playoff rounds

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

Canes in 4 or 5

 

[Big Daddy Cane]

So much for low expectations for the Hurricanes.

 

[DamonDRW]

it is not OK when some pairs are known 10% of regular season games before the end of the season.

 

[tarheelhockey]

If any year lines up good for a Canes’ playoff run it’s this one.

In terms of matchups yes, but this is a weak year for them roster-wise. It’s remarkable how many games they’ve won considering how much talent they lost over the summer.

 

[MVP of West Hollywd]

Yeah these games end up on whatever the channel that gets the least appealing games are (streamed on Prime?)

 

[swiiscompos]

Canes are favorites, no doubt about that, but the two teams are much closer than some people seem to think.

 

[Peter Sidorkiewicz]

I think goaltending will decide the series. Which ever team gets the better goalie play wins.

 

[Poppy Whoa Sonnet]

- The Haula hex? - 3 playoff series against the Canes, 3 eliminations.

 

[Forge]

Canes are favorites, no doubt about that, but the two teams are much closer than some people seem to think.

Without Jack, Siegenthaler and potentially Dougie?

Yeah, I don't agree with that.

 

[Forge]

I'll take the Canes in 4 or 5, I think.

 

[Clam Jensen]

I’m not biased enough to think the Devils will win, but I think they show up way more prepared than 2 years ago. They play such a better system under Keefe and are leaps and bounds more physical and defensively responsible, AND Marky is finally showing his pre injury form.

They’re an elite special teams…team…, but most of us are just proud of them for stepping up with all of the injuries. Dougie might be back which would be huge, but I’m just happy to watch playoff hockey again so they can get the experience and build on it for next year.

 

[Xirik]

Hopefully the Devils come in with a chip on their shoulder as they have nothing to lose as Everyone has already count them out.

 

[Emperoreddy]

The Canes are going to pretty heavily control ES play.

So it comes down to whether the Devils goaltending and defense can hold up and if they can counter with special teams.

If they can, this will be a series. If they cant it will be over very quickly.

 

[GlitchMarner]

Canes and winning one playoff round. Name a more iconic duo.

The Leafs and making the playoffs literally every year, only to lose in round one?


As to the series itself: I expect another slaughter basically. I didn't watch a lot of the 2023 series, but IIRC the series score was extremely lopsided. I don't think NJ stands a chance without Hughes.

 

[My3Sons]

NJ will compete harder than the last time these two teams matched up in thr playoffs but the outcome will likely be the same. NJ’s best hope is that Markstrom steals a couple of games.