The New Jersey Devils opened their 2025-26 regular season in Raleigh, facing their division rival, the Carolina Hurricanes. The same Hurricanes, with a few tweaks from over the summer, that eliminated the Devils in the first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Hurricanes have certainly had the Devils’ number in the last several seasons, especially on the road, with an 0-9-1 record in their last 10 games at the Lenovo Center.
New Jersey is hoping to turn the page on the Hurricanes’ dominance over them and in the Metropolitan Division in 2025-26.
They got off to a rough start in Game 1.
READ MORE: 8 Bold Devils Predictions Heading Into the 2025-26 Season
First Period
The Devils and Hurricanes opened the first period trading chances through the first handful of minutes. However, the Hurricanes began to take control near the four-minute mark of the opening frame.
Ex-Devils forward, Taylor Hall, opened the scoring, giving the Hurricanes a 1-0 lead, redirecting Shayne Gostisbehere’s shot from the point past Jacob Markstrom.
Carolina upped the pressure after the goal, and hemmed the Devils in their own end with a heavy forecheck and puck pressure.
However, the Devils began to push back a bit with about five minutes remaining on the clock in the first period.
With 24 seconds left on the clock, and a face-off at the Hurricanes’ left circle, Sheldon Keefe ice a five some consisting of Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, Timo Meier, Luke Hughes, and Dougie Hamilton, seeking a desperate late-period goal.
Yet, the buzzer sounded, concluding the opening frame.
Second Period
The Devils came out strong in the second period, but their effort was almost immediately negated by a bench minor for too many men on the ice. Fortunately, K’Andre Miller’s high stick on Dougie Hamilton negated the Devils penalty, and 4-on-4 hockey ensued.
Neither team could score, however, and after even strength returned, the Devils’ fourth line got to work. Paul Cotter was sprung for a semi-breakaway, and after Andersen turned the attempt aside, he slashed Miller’s stick and sent the Devils back to the penalty kill (PK).
The Hurricanes pressured Jacob Markstrom on the man advantage, yet the Devils were able to kill off the Cotter infraction.
New Jersey carried the momentum from the PK into their next shift at 5-on-5. Jesper Bratt led a rush to the Devils’ end of the ice, and his shot attempt landed on the stick of Hamilton, who shoveled the puck past Andersen to tie the game at one,
Yet, Miller gave the Hurricanes back the lead just over one minute following the Hamilton goal.
And although it appeared the Devils had relinquished control to the Hurricanes at that point once again, Cody Glass knots the game again—this time at two each—with a flick of the wrist during a 2-on-1 rush.
Despite a few extra chances for the Hurricanes before the end of the second period, Markstrom stood tall with a couple of high-danger saves to keep the game knotted at two going into the second intermission.
Third Period
The Devils’ third period (nearly) was their own undoing. They took one too many penalties, first from Cotter, which was eventually killed. And then second by Luke Hughes, for slashing in the defensive zone.
Miller scored his second of the game to give the Hurricanes a 3-2 lead at 10:21 of the third period.
Hall was inches from scoring his second goal just moments later to double the Hurricanes’ lead, but hit the post.
The Devils later started a rush from the defensive end, led by Brett Pesce, who passed the puck to Jack at the left of Carolina’s right circle. Jack touched the pass between his own legs, and to Bratt who joined the rush on his right to finish a beautiful tic-tac-toe goal to tie the game for a third time at three.
The Hurricanes would not be discouraged at the Devils’ three comebacks, however, upping the pressure on Markstrom. With just under three minutes remaining in the last frame, Seth Jarvis finished a Sebastian Aho shot-pass to regain the Carolina lead for the fourth time.
Jarvis later added his second goal via a Jack Hughes giveaway, hitting the empty net. With Markstrom back in the net, Eric Robinson redirects a Hall pass on the rush through the Devils netminders pads, and spelling a loss for New Jersey in their first game of the season, losing 6-3.
Markstrom made 27 saves on 33 shots, and the Devils are 0-1-0 to start the season.
