New Jersey Devils vs Carolina Hurricanes: Game 1 preview, predictions and odds | Stanley Cup Playoffs Round 1, April 20, 2025

By Cole Shelton

Modified Apr 20, 2025 14:26 GMT

NHL: Carolina Hurricanes at Ottawa Senators - Source: Imagn — New Jersey Devils vs Carolina Hurricanes: Game 1 preview, predictions and odds | Stanley Cup Playoffs Round 1, April 20, 2025 - Source: Imagn

The New Jersey Devils are set to play the Carolina Hurricanes in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in Game 1 of the first round on Sunday, April 20 at 3 p.m. ET.

New Jersey finished the year third in the Metro with a record of 42-33-7. Carolina finished second in the Metro with a record of 47-30-5.

Devils vs Hurricanes: Head-to-head & key stats

New Jersey went 2-2 against Carolina this season
The Devils are averaging 2.92 goals per game
Carolina is 31-9-1 at home
New Jersey is allowing 2.68 goals per game
The Hurricanes are averaging 3.24 goals per game
The Devils are 23-16-2 on the road
Carolina is allowing 2.8 goals per game

New Jersey Devils vs Carolina Hurricanes: Preview

New Jersey enters the playoffs banged up, as superstar forward Jack Hughes is out for the year. The Devils are led by Jesper Bratt, who has 88 points, Nico Hischier (69 points), Timo Meier (53) and Luke Hughes (44).

The Devils will start Jacob Markstrom, who went 26-16-6 with a 2.50 GAA and a .900 SV%. In his career against the Hurricanes, he's 9-5-1 with a 2.36 GAA and a .922 SV%.

Carolina, meanwhile, enters the playoffs with plenty of hype. The Hurricanes are led by Sebastian Aho with 74 points and Seth Jarvis with 67 points. Meanwhile, Andrei Svechnikov has 48 points and Shayen Gostisbehere has 45 points.

The Hurricanes will likely start Pyotr Kotchekov who's 27-16-3 with a 2.60 GAA and a .897 SV%. In his career against the Devils, he's 5-3 with a 2.25 GAA and a .914 SV%.

Devils vs Hurricanes: Odds & Prediction

New Jersey is a +150 underdog while Carolina is a -180 favorite, and the over/under is set at 5.5 goals.

The Devils enter the playoffs banged up and have plenty of questions on how good they truly are. Carolina is the much better team all-around and should be able to cruise to a lopsided series win, and that will begin in Game 1.

New Jersey just doesn't have the scoring, as the Hurricanes will get a lopsided win here.

Prediction: Hurricanes 4, Devils 1.

Devils vs Hurricanes: Betting Tips

Tip 1: Carolina ML (-180)

Tip 2: Under 5.5 goals (-135)

About the author

Cole is an NHL, NFL and College Sports reporter at Sportskeeda with over 7 years of experience writing for publications like CBC, USA Today, SMG, BJPENN, Sherdog and SB Nation.

An NHL fan his whole life, Cole played rep hockey in Canada from age 5 until 17 and grew up rooting for Martin St. Louis and the Tampa Bay Lightning. His all-time favorite players are Vincent Lecavalier and Steven Stamkos, while Jon Cooper is his favorite coach of all time.

Cole attended Sheridan College and received his journalism degree in 2019. After decades of watching and reporting, he considers his knowledge of sports as his primary strength. He ensures that the same story has been reported by at least two reputed reporters before creating it.

Cole enjoys playing golf and spending time with friends and family when not reporting breaking stories. His favorite sports moment is from the 2010 Olympics, when Sidney Crosby scored the golden goal in overtime to beat Team USA for the gold medal.

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Edited by Cole Shelton