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RALEIGH, N.C. — The Carolina Hurricanes have known for some time they would face the New Jersey Devils in the opening round of the playoffs, and the wait is finally over.
The matchup between the Metropolitan Division’s second- and third-place teams begins with an Easter Sunday matinee in Raleigh. Carolina is heavily favored over the Devils, who are putting out a bit of a happy-to-be-here vibe, given their significant injuries. Advertisement Still, there are positives and negatives going into the series for the Hurricanes, who lost seven of eight to end the regular season, albeit in essentially meaningless games with several of their regulars getting turns resting up for postseason play.
Given that Carolina will face New Jersey, I thought a little “angel on one shoulder, devil on the other” analysis of the Hurricanes’ mojo entering the playoffs was appropriate. Angel: Welcome to Raleigh It’s been a long wait, but Carolina’s top prospect, Russian defenseman Alexander Nikishin, is finally on American soil. ALEXANDER NIKISHIN HAS ARRIVED pic.
twitter.com/9UZoYZWSlS — x – Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) April 18, 2025 He has the potential to be an immediate difference-maker: an all-situations defender who people in the organization were saying two seasons ago could have stepped into an NHL lineup as a top-four defenseman immediately. Devil: Can he crack the lineup? The biggest issue is where Nikishin fits in.
After the Hurricanes reassigned rookie Scott Morrow to AHL Chicago on Friday, the only defenseman outside of the top six on the roster is Riley Stillman — an acceptable depth option, but he’s not going to play before Nikishin. But who of Carolina’s six usual defensemen — Brent Burns, Jalen Chatfield, Shayne Gostisbehere, Dmitry Orlov, Jaccob Slavin and Sean Walker — would sit to make room for the guy they call “Boom”? For @TheAthletic : Alexander Nikishin is on his way. So what does the Hurricanes’ star prospect bring and where could he fit in the lineup? https://t.
co/Dane9wlh1s — Cory Lavalette (@corylav) April 12, 2025 It’s a tough one for Rod Brind’Amour, who will have to base his decision without seeing Nikishin play an NHL game. Angel: Home is where the wins are The Hurricanes secured home ice over the Devils by finishing second in the Metro, and that’s a big deal: They tied the Kings for the most wins on home ice this season with 31. Carolina also was third in goals for at home (3.
78) and sixth in goals against (2.46). Advertisement The Devils were also a good road team: 23-16-2 with a league-low 2.
66 goals against per game. But it’s worth noting the Hurricanes won both of their home games against the Devils this season, and the matchups are even better for Carolina with Jack Hughes out for the season and Jonas Siegenthaler unlikely to play in Round 1. Devil: Road worriers The news isn’t so good away from Lenovo Center.
The Hurricanes had the NHL’s 23rd-best record on the road at 16-21-4, and their scoring dropped more than a full goal per game (2.71) while allowing 3.15 away from Lenovo Center.
The silver lining is that the Devils have been meh at home: 19-17-5 while barely outscoring opponents on average (2.85 goals for, 2.71 goals against) at Prudential Center.
New Jersey did manage to win both of its home games against the Hurricanes in the regular season. When the teams met in the second round in 2023, Carolina was 3-0 at home and split two games in Newark. Angel: Clean bill of health The Hurricanes have some bumps and bruises, but everything points to Carolina having all its players — minus Jesper Fast, who hasn’t played this season — available to open the series.
It puts Brind’Amour in a tough position. As already mentioned, it will be difficult for him to find a spot for Nikishin on the blue line, and things are even more crowded up front. Mark Jankowski’s remarkable run (eight goals in 19 games) since coming over from the Nashville Predators at the deadline has probably locked him in as the team’s No.
4 center. He’s not only scored on 38.1 percent of his shots since the trade but also become a third-wave penalty killer for Carolina.
William Carrier is also back after missing more than three months and will surely be in the lineup, given that his style of play is perfect for the playoffs and brings a ruggedness the Hurricanes sometimes lack. Advertisement The decision could come down to Eric Robinson and Jack Roslovic. Roslovic scored 22 goals in his first season with Carolina, but 17 came before the calendar flipped to 2025.
He plays on the second power-play unit but has just 2 points. His defensive shortcomings could cost him a spot in the lineup, though if the Hurricanes need scoring, he could provide instant offense. Robinson put together a career year, but much of his production also came in the first three months of the season: Nine of his 14 goals and 20 of his 32 points were before Jan.
1. He ranks fifth in short-handed ice time among Hurricanes forwards, but Jankowski has taken many of those minutes — since the trade deadline, Jankowski has played nearly twice as many minutes (30:19) on the PK as Robinson (15:42). As mentioned, the Devils will be without Hughes and Siegenthaler, and Dougie Hamilton hadn’t played for more than six weeks until he logged 23:43 in New Jersey’s regular-season finale.
Devil: Masked men The good: Carolina’s two top goalies, Frederik Andersen and Pyotr Kochetkov are healthy heading into the playoffs. The bad: Both are entering the postseason riding a rough patch. While Carolina did have a hodgepodge lineup for much of its games in April, Andersen allowed 20 goals in his final four starts of the regular season, all losses.
Kochetkov didn’t fare much better, winning one of four in April and allowing 13 goals. The net is probably Andersen’s to start — he’s the steadier, more veteran choice — but Brind’Amour won’t hesitate to go to Kochetkov if the 35-year-old Dane stumbles or the team needs the Russian’s fiery play. Angel: Top line vibes It took nearly all season, but Brind’Amour has seemingly settled on his top line.
Sebastian Aho, Seth Jarvis and rookie Jackson Blake have played just over 200 minutes together at five-on-five this season and outscored opponents 13-5 with an expected goal percentage nearly that good (72.2 percent goals for, 68 percent expected goals for), according to NaturalStatTrick . Advertisement It’s not the biggest line in the world — they average 5-foot-11 and under 181 pounds — but the trio has been giving opponents fits.
The rest of the forwards — with the exception of generously listed 5-foot-8 Logan Stankoven — have plenty of size, particularly down the middle where Jordan Staal, Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Jankowski average just under 6-foot-4 and nearly 212 pounds (and that’s with Staal listed at a comical 220). The Devils will have a tough time wrangling Carolina’s small-but-shifty top line. Devil: Bratt pack The Devils don’t have their top player in Hughes, but his running mate Jesper Bratt has had a career year.
His goals dropped to 21 this season, but he finished with a career-best 88 points. He’s speedy and shifty, and Sheldon Keefe will surely try to get him on the ice when Slavin and Staal aren’t out there. Bratt finished with two goals and five assists in four games against the Hurricanes this season, though all those games were when Hughes was still in the lineup.
To his credit, he still had 20 points in his last 19 games of the season without Hughes, though he was blanked in his final four games. Bonus Angel: Haula hex Since Erik Haula was traded away from the Hurricanes in 2019, he has faced Carolina three times in the playoffs, once each with the Predators, Boston Bruins and New Jersey Devils. He lost all three of those series, including being kept off the scoresheet in the Hurricanes’ five-game Round 2 win over the Devils in 2023.
It gets worse for Haula when playing in Raleigh: In 19 total games, he has two goals and 5 points, is a minus-13 and has won once. In the postseason, he’s 0-10 as a visiting player, with his team outscored a combined 43-14. (Photo: Minas Panagiotakis / Getty Images).
