The Devils return home to wrap up a back-to-back that started in Montreal on Saturday night. Puck drop for Sunday night's game against the Hurricanes is at 7 p.m. ET.
You can watch the game on MSGSN or listen on the Devils Hockey Network.
Read the game preview below plus videos, lineup updated, and more. Check back an hour before game time for your pre-game story.

YOUR GAME-DAY ESSENTIALS

GAME DAY VIDEO
WATCH:
Lindy Ruff Pre-Game
BY THE NUMBERS
Stats Comparison: Devils vs. Hurricanes
Media Game Notes
Head to Head: Devils vs. Hurricanes
Devils Player Statistics
Hurricanes Player Statistics
NHL Standings
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REWIND: Winning Habit
3-ON-3: Trade Deadline Reaction
RECENT ARTICLES
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TV & RADIO
You can watch the game on MSGSN.
You can listen to the game on the Devils Hockey Network.

PRE-GAME STORY

NEWARK, N.J. -The Devils did not hold a morning skate due to playing on back-to-back contests, finishing with the second half Sunday night against Carolina.
Devils head coach Lindy Ruff spoke with the media prior to puck drop.
Lineup
Ruff would not indicate how his lineup would look against Carolina. The main question being if recently acquired forward Curtis Lazar, who finally joined the team in Montreal following a weeklong Visa process, would make his team debut.
Ruff did provide an update on goalie Mackenzie Blackwood, who has been out of the lineup with a lower-body injury since Feb. 21 (retroactively placed IR). Blackwood skated Sunday and his progressing.
With the heavy game load this month, the Devils have opted to not practice on non-game days. However, Blackwood will try to log some of that workload soon.
"Although we don't practice anymore, you'll see him in a practice unit. Whatever that is," Ruff said.
MetroCard
First place is (momentarily) on the line when the Devils and Hurricanes collide. The Canes have a two-point advantage at the moment, with one game in hand on New Jersey. It's a potential four-point swing for one of the teams.
"We know they have a heck of a team. We know it's going to be a tough match," Ruff said. "We know they're one of the best defensive teams, hard to create chances against. Their defense has real good speed. We have to focus in on what we can control.
"We get to play against a really good team, a team that's ahead of us by two points, a team that has a history of being in the playoffs and being one of the top performers. It's a great game to judge where you're at."
Progress
Last season at this time, the Devils were playing to finish out the season. Now, they're playing for first place in the division - and are 11 points away from clinching a playoff berth for the first time since 2018.
Ruff reflected on the team's rapid progress.
"There are a lot of pieces that have changed," he said. "Goaltending has been healthy for the most part. The defense has improved with some of the changes. Our forward group has improved, some of that is the growth of our young guys and some of it is the changes. We've had guys that have stepped in and played bigger roles. They've helped us with the grind game. You put it all together and we've been able to stay consistent."
--Sam Kasan, NewJerseyDevils.com

PREVIEW

DEVILS (43-16-6) vs. HURRICANES (43-13-8)
TV: 7:00 p.m. ET; Televised on MSGSN
RADIO: 7:00 p.m. ET; Live on Devils Hockey Network
Head-to-Head:
The Devils and Hurricanes meet for the fourth and final time this season and second time at Prudential Center. New Jersey won the most recent matchup in Carolina when the visitors picked up a 5-3 win on Jan. 11 to kick off the team's longest road trip of the year. Dawson Mercer had two goals while Nico Hischier, Jesper Boqvist, and Jonas Siegenthaler all added a goal each.
The Hurricanes won the first two meetings this season, starting with a 4-1 result in Raleigh on Dec. 20, 2022 and then a 5-4 shootout victory at Prudential Center on New Years Day. Jack Hughes had the lone goal in the Dec. 20 game while Hughes, Jesper Bratt (2), Nico Hischier scored in the Jan. 1 loss.
Devils Team Scope:
For the first time since 2018, the Devils are expected to return to the playoffs and New Jersey is playing meaningful games in March. Right now, positioning is key as the Devils are two points back from the Carolina Hurricanes, who lead the Metropolitan Division. The Devils have nine points on the New York Rangers who sit in third place.
Through six games played in March, the Devils have gone to extra time on three occasions including on Thursday against the Capitals, a 3-2 shootout win. Four of those six games were decided by one goal which shows how tight games have gotten this late in the season. However, the Devils have points in five of those six games and gone 4-1-1 in March so far.
Jack Hughes leads the Devils with 36 goals and 76 points and is second with 40 assists. Hughes' performance this year has been a huge part of the Devils success this season. He has 6 power play points while playing on the top unit and five game winning goals. Dougie Hamilton's 44 assists are a team high. Hamilton has had an outstanding season, as he's set new career highs with assists (43) and points totals (61) and his next goal will be a career high as well (currently 18 G).
Vitek Vanecek has played the majority of games this season and has a 27-7-3 record. He's averaging 2.55 goals against a contest and has a .907 save percentage. Currently Mackenzie Blackwood is out with an undisclosed injury so Akira Schmid has rounded out the goaltending tandem. Schmid has a 8-4-1 record with a 1.91 goals against average and a 9.27 save percentage. Schmid played Saturday night so it's expected that Vanecek will get the start against the Hurricanes.
Hurricanes Team Scope:
The Hurricanes also played the first half of a back-to-back on Saturday night and were shutout by the Vegas Golden Knights, 4-0. It's the third loss in seven games for Carolina who dropped a rare two straight contests to end February and start March. Even with three losses in this span, the Hurricanes have found plenty of offense as they've outscored their opponents 21 to 14. Over their last 10 games, Carolina is 7-3-0.
Sebastian Aho leads the Hurricanes with 27 goals, Brent Burn's 39 assists are a team-high, and Martin Necas's 60 points pace Carolina. The Hurricanes have four players with over 50 points: Brent Burns (51), Andrei Svechnikov (55), Sebastian Aho (55), and Martin Necas (60). Necas's eight power play goals and 23 power play points lead his team while on the man-advantage.
Frederik Andersen played against the Golden Knights so Pyotr Kochekov will likely start against the Devils unless Antti Raanta is cleared to play after missing two games. Andersen has a 2.38 goals against average, .904 save percentage and a 16-7-0 record. Kochekov has a 11-4-5 record with a 2.21 goals against average and a .917 save percentage.
Carolina is a strong team with plenty of offensive threats and the understanding of what it takes to win meaningful games late in the year. With a 2.50 goals against/games played, the Hurricanes are second best in the NHL at keeping their opponents from scoring goals. They're 11th in the NHL with 3.33 goals for/games played. In addition, Carolina's penalty kill is second in the NHL with a 83.7% kill rate.
By the Numbers:
Dawson Mercer is a on a career-high 12 game points streak which sets a franchise record for longest points streak by a player 21 years or younger. Brendan Shanahan previously had the record with 11 games from March 1990. The 2020 first-round pick has 20 points over his current streak and has set career-highs in all scoring categories this season (22 G, 27 A, 49 PTS).
The Hurricanes have only suffered three shutouts this season: Nov. 9 FLA 3, CAR 0; Nov. 23 ARI 4, CAR 0; March 11 VGK 4, CAR 0. The Devils are one of two teams who have yet to suffer a shutout this season.
Injuries:
Devils
Jonathan Bernier (Hip - LTIR)
Mackenzie Blackwood (Undisclosed - IR)
Hurricanes
Antti Raanta (Undisclosed - day-to-day)
Jalen Chatfield (Upper-Body - day-to-day)
Ondrej Kase (Concussion Protocol - IR)
Max Pacioretty (Achilles - IR)
-Catherine Bogart, NJD.TV