New Jersey has an all-time record of 81-57-12-5 against Carolina.
The New Jersey Devils will face the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night at PNC Arena. It is the first meeting between the two teams since the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs when Carolina eliminated New Jersey in five games in Round 2. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 P.M. The team held a 10:30 A.M. morning skate.
The organization announced two roster moves ahead of their skate. Forward Justin Dowling and defenseman Daniil Misyul were called up from the Utica Comets (American Hockey League). On Wednesday morning, head coach Lindy Ruff told reporters call-ups would be coming after the team released a statement that forward Michael McLeod and defenseman Cal Foote have requested and been granted indefinite leave of absence from the team.
Veteran winger Ondrej Palat will return to the lineup for the first time since Dec. 30. He will start the game playing alongside Tyler Toffoli and Dawson Mercer.
Devils @ Hurricanes - PNC Arena
The Devils earned a 2-1-1 regular season record against the Hurricanes last season before meeting them in the postseason. Throughout his career, Nico Hischier has 14 points in 15 games against tonight's opponent, while Chris Tierney has earned at least a point in his last two meetings.
The Hurricanes are second in the Metropolitan Division (26-15-5). They are coming off a 3-2 win over the Boston Bruins and are concluding their eighth back-to-back set of the season. Carolina's record in the second game is 3-3-1. Jordan Martinook scored the game-winning goal, and goatlender Spencer Martin made 26 saves on 28 shots.
- New Jersey's injury list includes Dougie Hamilton (out indefinitely), Tomas Nosek (out indefinitely), Jonas Siegenthaler (broken foot), Jack Hughes (upper body), and Brendan Smith (sprained knee).
- Carolina's injury list includes Andrei Svechnikov (upper body), Frederik Andersen (blood clot), and Pyotr Kochetkov (concussion).
- Hurricanes forward Stefan Noesen collected 43 points (22 goals, 21 assists) in 145 games with the Devils from 2017-19. He appeared in four postseason games in 2018 and scored the Devils' game-winning goal in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference First Round against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
- Carolina acquired Erik Haula from the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for Nicolas Roy and a fifth-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft (Oscar Plandowski) in June 2019. He tallied 22 points (12 goals, ten assists) in 41 games with the team in 2019-20. The veteran was traded to the Florida Panthers along with Lucas Wallmark, Eetu Luostarinen, and Chase Priskie in exchange for Vincent Trocheck in February 2020.
- Per the media notes, Carolina has converted on the man advantage in 11 of their last 13 games and has scored multiple power-play goals in six games.
- As of Jan. 24, the Devils have tallied two or more power-play goals in a game ten times this season, tied with the Edmonton Oilers for fourth in the NHL. The Hurricanes are third (11 games).
- Four Devils skaters enter tonight's game on a point streak: Jesper Bratt (two games), Nico Hischier (four games), Tyler Toffoli (two games), and Timo Meier (two games.)
Projected Lineup
New Jersey:
Timo Meier - Nico Hischier - Jesper Bratt
Tyler Toffoli - Dawson Mercer - Ondrej Palat
Curtis Lazar - Erik Haula - Nathan Bastian
Max Willman - Chris Tierney - Alexander Holtz
Kevin Bahl - Simon Nemec
Luke Hughes - John Marino
Santeri Hatakka - Colin Miller
Nico Daws/Vitek Vanecek
Carolina:
Michael Bunting - Sebastian Aho - Teuvo Teravainen
Stefan Noesen - Jack Drury - Martin Necas
Jordan Martinook - Jordan Staal - Seth Jarvis
Brendan Lemieux - Jesperi Kotkaniemi - Jesper Fast
Jaccob Slavin - Brent Burns
Brady Skjei - Brett Pesce
Dmitry Orlov - Jalen Chatfield
Antti Raanta/Spencer Martin
Watch & Listen: Tonight's game will be broadcast on MSGSN. Bill Spaulding will handle play-by-play alongside analyst Ken Daneyko and host Erika Wachter. Fans can also listen on the Devils Hockey Network with Matt Loughlin on play-by-play.
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