What - Game 1 (47-30-5)
When - 3 p.m., Sunday, April 20
Where - Lenovo Center; Raleigh, NC
How to Watch - FanDuel Sports Network South, ESPN, Sportsnet, SN360, TVAS, MSGSN

The Carolina Hurricanes will kick off their 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs with Game 1 against the New Jersey Devils (42-33-7).

It's the seventh consecutive playoff appearance for the Canes, all coming under head coach Rod Brind'Amour, and the first for the Devils since 2023.

Neither team is entering the postseason hot, but there was also no real incentive for either squad down the stretch as theirs was the first playoff matchup to be locked in.

The Hurricanes went 3-6-1 in their last 10 games, going 1-4-0 in their last five and the Devils went 5-5-0, going 1-4-0 in their last five as well.

While the Canes are entering the playoffs with essentially a fully healthy lineup, the Devils are missing some big pieces, most notably Jack Hughes who is out for the season due to a shoulder injury.

Defenseman Jonas Siegnethaler is also currently out and while he is getting closer to a return, a round-one appearance doesn't seem likely.

The Devils have perhaps the best special teams combination in the league with the third ranked power play and second ranked kill so the Hurricanes will need to be extra aware of staying out of the box even with their top ranked penalty kill.

But if the Canes can find traction on the power play early and Frederik Andersen can outduel Jacob Markstrom, their superior depth should take over and push the Hurricanes to the top.

But the game is played on the ice not on paper, so we'll just have to see how it all shakes out.

Streaks

• Sebastian Aho (1g, 3a) and Seth Jarvis (2g, 4a) had points in three straight games entering the postseason.
• Jordan Martinook (2g), Taylor Hall (1g, 2a) and Jesperi Kotkaniemi (1g, 1) had points in back-to-back games entering the postseason.

Milestone Watch

• None

Game Notes

• The New Jersey Devils have quite a few former Hurricanes on their roster including Dougie Hamilton, Erik Haula, Stefan Noesen and Brett Pesce.
• It will be the first playoff series against Carolina for both Noesen and Pesce, while Hamilton has gone up against the Canes once (0-1) and Haula has gone up against Carolina three times (0-3).
• On the flip side, the lone New Jersey connection on the Canes roster is Taylor Hall, who won the Hart Trophy with the Devils in 2018.
• The two teams have faced each other in five other postseason series. Carolina holds a 4-1 edge in those, having won each of the last four, including a 4-1 series win in the 2023 second-round.
• Jordan Martinook (3g, 10pts, 5gp), Jordan Staal (2g, 6pts, 5gp) and Jesperi Kotkaniemi (3g, 5pts, 5gp) are all point-per-game players against the Devils in the postseason.
• The Canes tied their franchise record for wins at home this season with 31, tied for the most wins on home ice amongst the entire league this year.

Key Matchups

Projected Starting Goalies

• Frederik Andersen: 13-8-1; 0.899 Sv%; 2.50 GAA
• Jacob Markstrom: 26-16-6; 0.900 Sv%; 2.50 GAA

Leading Scorers

• Goals - Seth Jarvis (32) / Nico Hischier (35)
• Points - Sebastian Aho (74) / Jesper Bratt (88)

Power Play

• Carolina - 18.7% (25th)
• New Jersey - 28.2% (3rd)

Penalty Kill

• Carolina - 83.6% (1st)
• New Jersey - 82.7% (2nd)

Hurricanes Projected Lineup

Seth Jarvis - Sebastian Aho - Jackson Blake
Andrei Svechnikov - Jesperi Kotkaniemi - Taylor Hall
Jordan Martinook - Jordan Staal - Logan Stankoven
Eric Robinson - Jack Roslovic - William Carrier

Jaccob Slavin - Brent Burn
Dmitry Orlov - Jalen Chatfield
Shayne Gostisbehere - Sean Walker

Frederik Andersen
Pyotr Kochetkov

Injuries and Scratches: Tyson Jost, Mark Jankowski, Alexander Nikishin, Riley Stillman, Jesper Fast (neck)

Devils Projected Lineup

Stefan Noesen - Nico Hischier - Jesper Bratt
Erik Haula - Dawson Mercer - Timo Meier
Paul Cotter - Cody Glass - Daniel Sprong
Ondrej Palat - Justin Dowling - Nathan Bastian 

Luke Hughes - Brett Pesce
Brian Dumoulin - Johnathan Kovacevic
Brenden Dillon - Dougie Hamilton

Jacob Markstrom
Jake Allen

Injuries and Scratches: Seamus Casey, Dennis Cholowski, Nico Daws, Nolan Foote, Curtis Lazar, Simon Nemec, Tomas Tatar, Jack Hughes (shoulder), Jonas Siegenthaler (LBI)

Playoff Prep
• Round 1 Schedule Revealed: Hurricanes, Devils Kick Off Sunday
• 3 Carolina Hurricanes Who Need To Step Up Their Games For The Playoffs
• The Carolina Hurricanes Are Virtually Fully Healthy, So Who Sits Game 1?
• Frederik Andersen 'More Than Likely' To Be Game 1 Starter, But Will The Hurricanes Rotate Netminders?
• 'He Has All The Tools': Alexander Nikishin Takes Part In First Carolina Hurricanes Practice
• Seth Jarvis, Sebastian Aho Selected For Media End-Of-Season Awards
• Brent Burns Recipient Of Steve Chiasson Award

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