The New Jersey Devils dropped their first game of the season, falling 6-3 to the Carolina Hurricanes. It marked Luke Hughes’ first appearance of the year after missing most of training camp due to ongoing contract negotiations.
Hughes and the Devils organization reached an agreement on October 1, just nine days before the season opener. The 22-year-old defenseman signed a seven-year, $63 million deal, securing his place in New Jersey.
Hughes did not participate in the early part of the preseason and sat out the final game—along with several other starters—meaning his first game action since the end of last season came last night.
Devils Lineup:
Evgenii Dadonov – Jack Hughes – Jesper Bratt
Timo Meier – Nico Hischier – Dawson Mercer
Ondrej Palat – Cody Glass – Connor Brown
Paul Cotter – Luke Glendening – Arseni Gritsyuk
Luke Hughes – Brett Pesce
Jonas Siegenthaler – Dougie Hamilton
Brenden Dillon – Simon Nemec
Starter: Jacob Markstrom
Backup: Jake Allen
Healthy Scratches: Zack MacEwen, Dennis Cholowski Injuries: Jonathan Kovacevic, Stefan Noesen, Seamus Casey, Marc McLaughlin, Juho Lammikko
The Devils never led in the game, falling behind 1-0 in the first period on a deflected shot that resulted in a goal by Taylor Hall.
In the second period, Dougie Hamilton, K’Andre Miller, and Cody Glass each found the back of the net, sending the game into the third period tied 3-3.
Miller scored his second of the night early in the third, matched quickly by Jesper Bratt. From there, Carolina pulled away with two goals from Seth Jarvis and a late tally from Eric Robinson to seal a 6-3 win.
Penalties played a key role in the outcome. The Devils took four, while the Hurricanes were called for just two.
Much of the postgame attention centered on Luke Hughes. The young defenseman finished with two assists and logged 20:46 of ice time. His offensive impact was noticeable, but a costly defensive lapse stood out: Hughes took a slashing penalty on Taylor Hall late in the third period, which led to K’Andre Miller’s go-ahead power-play goal.
While that penalty wasn’t the sole reason for the loss, it shifted momentum at a crucial point. Hughes’ limited ice time during the preseason may have contributed to some rust in his defensive reads.
The defeat extended the Devils’ struggles in Raleigh—they are now winless in their last 11 games there (including postseason matchups).
New Jersey won’t return to Carolina again this regular season. The Hurricanes will visit Newark twice—on January 4 and January 17. A potential postseason rematch remains a possibility, though both teams will have more time to find rhythm by then.
Head coach Sheldon Keefe spoke with NHL.com following the loss:
“It’s what you expect when you play Carolina in terms of the pressure,” Keefe said. “It’s a tough assignment coming in here for their home opener. I liked the fight of our guys to keep coming back, but we were the second-best team all night, so the result is appropriate.”
While more preseason action might not have changed the outcome, it could have helped Hughes and the Devils find their rhythm sooner. They leave Carolina 0-1, a tough start to their 2025-26 campaign.