Almost every concern surrounding the New Jersey Devils’ playoff chances appeared warranted in Game 1 of their first-round series against the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday. With Jack Hughes out for the season, the Devils struggled to create offense. The Hurricanes’ depth also looked far superior, and they swarmed New Jersey from puck drop on.
Carolina withstood a New Jersey push in the third period and won 4-1. The Hurricanes outshot the Devils 45-24. They limited shots from dangerous areas early and had 55.96 percent of the expected goal share at five-on-five, according to Natural Stat Trick.
To make matters worse for New Jersey, Brenden Dillon, Luke Hughes and Cody Glass left the game with injuries, though Hughes did return.
Jalen Chatfield opened the scoring for Carolina, and Logan Stankoven added a pair in the second. Nico Hischier scored New Jersey’s lone goal late in the second period, but the Devils couldn’t capitalize on chances in the third. Andrei Svechnikov scored an empty net goal to seal the game.
Here are takeaways from the rout.
Hurricanes’ depth edge
The Jack Hughes injury has a trickle-down effect. The Devils’ top forward being out forces depth players to take on bigger roles. Pair that with offseason addition Tomáš Tatar not even making the Game 1 lineup, and New Jersey’s bottom six is vulnerable against a team such as Carolina. The first period showed as much.
Jack Roslovic, centering Carolina’s fourth line, won an offensive-zone draw to start the first scoring sequence. Eric Robinson moved the puck to Chatfield, who beat Jacob Markström with a snap shot through traffic. The goal came against the Devils’ third line of Paul Cotter, Glass and Daniel Sprong. That trio got trounced when on the ice together, finishing with 3.91 percent of the five-on-five expected goal share in just under five minutes, according to Natural Stat Trick.
Our first goal of the playoffs 🚨 pic.twitter.com/iOW3MSfNbo
— x – Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) April 20, 2025
The Hurricanes’ Robinson-Roslovic-William Carrier line created another chance early in the second period, with Robinson nearly scoring on a breakaway. That line had 67.48 percent of the expected goal share in the game, according to National Stat Trick.
Rod Brind’Amour doesn’t like to number his lines, but Stankoven — a key return in the Mikko Rantanen trade — has essentially played a third-line role. He’s with Jordan Martinook and captain Jordan Staal, who make up a potent defensive group that can also be opportunistic offensively. Martinook grabbed a puck from Hischier behind the net in the second period and fed Stankoven in the slot for his first goal. Stankoven scored again on the power play.
Devils’ power play stymied
New Jersey has an elite power play. It finished the season with a 28.2 percent conversion rate, third in the league, and the unit more than stayed afloat after Jack Hughes suffered a season-ending shoulder injury. It was a league-best 32.6 percent over its last 20 games.
That did not intimidate Carolina and its elite penalty kill. Chatfield took the game’s first penalty with a cross-check on Hischier, but the Devils got only one shot on that power-play chance. Jaccob Slavin broke up multiple plays, and Seth Jarvis had a dangerous short-handed look on which Markström made a nifty pad save. New Jersey’s power play ended prematurely when it had too many men on the ice.
Dawson Mercer drew a penalty in the third, but the Devils failed to generate much of anything for most of the two minutes. Dougie Hamilton eventually had a dangerous look from the slot, but his shot, which may have been blocked, sailed high of the net.
The Devils’ penalty kill, which ranked second in the league, failed to stop Carolina. Stankoven scored his second goal of the game off a power-play feed from Taylor Hall.
New Jersey pushes late but fails to finish
In the third, coach Sheldon Keefe split up star forwards Hischier and Bratt, who combined for a four-on-four goal late in the second period. The results were much better, as New Jersey was more dangerous. Hischier and Timo Meier both had good chances to pull the Devils within two goals but couldn’t beat Frederik Andersen.
The Devils finished the game with Ondrej Palat and Meier flanking Hischier, and Bratt with Mercer and Erik Haula. Keefe could consider going back to those lines in Game 2.
Frederik Andersen starts for Carolina
The Hurricanes had a goaltender decision to make. Pyotr Kochetkov played 47 games on the year with an .897 save percentage, and Andersen played 22 with an .899. Brind’Amour went with the veteran Andersen, and he delivered a 23-save performance. The Hurricanes made his life easy most of the game, but he made a big save on Hischier from the slot in the third, then came up with a big save on Meier later in the period.
Across the ice, Markström had a strong first Devils playoff game. The Hurricanes peppered him with shots, but he made 41 saves and kept New Jersey in the game.
Dillon, Glass leave game
The Devils are already undermanned with Jack Hughes and Jonas Siegenthaler out, and they got dealt more blows in Game 1. Dillon got tangled with Carrier in front of the net in the second period. He tried to get up but fell back to the ice, his legs in apparent pain. He left for the dressing room and did not return for the third.
Luke Hughes appeared to get hurt after a collision sent him into his own net in the third. Later on the same shift, Markström tried to whack Svechnikov and accidentally hit Glass in the knee. Both Hughes and Glass left the game after that shift, though Hughes eventually returned.
Markstrom intended this slash for Svechnikov but accidentally hit Glass 😬 pic.twitter.com/zsPC1Pl1iC
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) April 20, 2025
Dillon played all 82 regular-season games, averaging more than 18 minutes of ice time, and is one of the Devils’ main penalty killers. New Jersey got Glass at the deadline to bolster its center depth. Hughes had 44 points in his second full NHL season; concern around him is a little less since he returned to action in the third period.
If Dillon or Hughes can’t go in Game 2, Simon Nemec and Seamus Casey would be the primary options to join the lineup. If either plays, it will be their playoff debut. Tatar, Curtis Lazar and Kurtis MacDermid are potential forward replacements.
Keefe told reporters in Raleigh that Dillon was eager to return to play, but trainers kept him out. He did not have an update on Glass.
(Photo: Grant Halverson / Getty Images)
