Devils Wrap Up Homestand, Host Carolina | PREVIEW

New Jersey wraps up a three-game homestand when they host the Carolina Hurricanes at Prudential Center for a matinee matchup.

You can watch on ABC and ESPN+ or listen on the Devils Hockey Network.

Read below for your game preview and pre-game story below.

PRE-GAME STORY

NEWARK, NJ - The Devils did not hold a morning skate with Saturday’s game against Carolina being an early afternoon tilt at 12:30 p.m. Interim head coach Travis Green did meet with the media addressed a few topics.

New Goalie(s)?

At Friday’s NHL trade deadline the Devils acquired two goaltenders: Jake Allen from Montreal and Kaapo Kahkonen from San Jose. Allen will have to clear immigration so his arrival with the team is unclear. But the club did hope Kahkonen would be in the lineup this afternoon.

However, he wasn’t able to make it in time. So, the Devils recalled Akria Schmid from Utica of the American Hockey League. Schmid will backup as Nico Daws makes the start.

“I’m hoping to see one or two of (the new goalies) on the ice as soon as possible with us,” Green said.

Dust Settling

The Devils also traded away two veterans from the lineup yesterday. Forward Tyler Toffoli, the team’s leading goal scorer, and defenseman Colin Miller were both traded to Winnipeg. Now the team will look ahead to the final 19 games.

“With Tyler getting traded it wasn’t a surprise. We had not played him the game before,” Green said. “Adding a couple goalies was a surprise for our group. It solidifies our goaltending going forward and gives our young guys a chance to go up and down and play accordingly.”

Despite the changes, the focus is still the same.

“We’re taking every game and trying to win every game that we can,” Green said. “I thought we had a good game last game. Building off of that.”

Scout the Canes

Green on Carolina: “They’re a very good team. They’re a big challenge. They play fast. They play hard. You know what you’re going to get when you play Carolina. You have to be ready to match their work ethic or you’re not going to win.”

Nemec and Hughes

The Devils had paired rookies Simon Nemec and Luke Hughes together for the previous game. Though the pairing was more happenstance than strategy.

“We liked the other two pairings actually. That’s a big reason why we did it,” Green said. “Two young defenseman that are going to be really good players in the league. We’ve played them before at different times.”

--Sam Kasan, Devils Beat Reporter

PREVIEW

DEVILS (31-28-4) vs. HURRICANES (37-19-6)

Head-to-Head

This is the third of three meetings between the Hurricanes and Devils this season. The Hurricanes won the first two meetings, both in Raleigh. The first matchup on Jan. 25, Carolina won 3-2 before picking up a 1-0 win in overtime on Feb. 10. Justin Dowling and Jesper Bratt are the only Devils who have scored on the Hurricanes this season.

Devils Team Scope:

The Devils snapped a three game losing skid when they beat the St. Louis Blues 4-1 on Thursday. Timo Meier had his fifth career hat trick, and his first with the Devils, in the win. Erik Haula’s empty net goal sealed the win, and Meier had an assist on the goal to have a four point night. Ondrej Palat and Nico Hischier each had two assists while Jack Hughes and John Marino had one. The win was Interim Head Coach Travis Green’s first at the helm.

There will be some lineup changes for the Devils against the Hurricanes after the trade deadline. New Jersey traded its leading goal scorer, Tyler Toffoli, to the Winnipeg Jets with a 2024 third-round pick and a 2025 second-round pick coming to the organization in return. In a separate trade, the Devils sent defenseman Colin Miller to the Jets for a fourth-round pick in the 2026 Draft. New Jersey also traded Vitek Vanecek and a 2025 seventh-round pick to the San Jose Sharks and acquired Kaapo Kahkonen in return. Lastly, the Devils acquired Jake Allen from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for a conditional 2025 third-round pick.

Jesper Bratt’s 22 goals, 42 assists, and 64 points are team highs. Jack Hughes, despite being injured this season, is second in goals (21), assists (39), and points (60). Meier has nine points (6G, 3A) in the Devils last five games, which leads the team.

Daws played in the Devils win over the Blues and recorded 23 saves on 24 shots. He has a 9-10-0 record with a 3.32 goals against average and a .890 save percentage. Akira Schmid had a 5-9-1 record with a 3.15 goals against average and a .895 save percentage. In his most recent game against the Florida Panthers, Schmid stopped 26 of the 30 shots he faced.

Saturday afternoon is the Devils final home game for the next week as they head to Madison Square Garden Monday to face the New York Rangers before heading on a three-game road trip out west with stops in Dallas, Arizona, and Las Vegas. When it comes to the playoff race, the Devils are six points behind the Tampa Bay Lightning for the second wild card spot with one less game played and are eight points behind the Flyers for the third spot in the Metropolitan division with one less game played.

Hurricanes Team Scope:

Saturday kicks off a busy stretch of the schedule for the Hurricanes with 12 games between Mar. 9 and Mar. 30; however, they’ve only had two games over the last seven days. After losing 5-3 to the Winnipeg Jets last Saturday, Carolina rebounded with a 4-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday. The Hurricanes have had a solid performance in their last 10 games, going 7-2-1 over that span.

The Hurricanes made some moves ahead of the trade deadline, acquiring two big names in Jake Guentzel and Evgeny Kuznetsov. In the Guenzel deal with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Carolina also received former Devil Ty Smith. Kuznetsov will make his Hurricanes debut and play his first NHL game since Jan. 27, when the Devils host the Hurricanes.

Sebastian Aho leads the Hurricanes with 24 goals, 41 assists, and 65 points. Seth Jarvis’ 29 assists and 48 points are second on the team while Jarvis, Teuvo Teravainen and Martin Necas are all tied for second most goals with 19. Over their last five games, Brady Skjei leads Carolina with five points, three of them goals, while Teravainen has three assists in that span.

Frederik Andersen played his first game since Nov. 2 on Thursday. In the win, he stopped 25 of the 26 shots he faced. The Hurricanes have relied on Pyotr Kochetkov and Spencer Martin in recent games. Kochetkov has a 16-11-3 record this year where he’s average 2.41 goals against and has a .910 save percentage. Martin has a 4-0-1 record with a .922 save percentage and 1.97 goals against average.

Carolina returns home after their game against the Devils and will kick off a three-game homestand versus the Calgary Flames, New York Rangers, and Florida Panthers. Currently, Carolina is second in the Metropolitan Division with 80 points.

By the Numbers:

The Carolina Hurricanes allow the fewest shots against in the NHL as their opponents average 25.5 a game.

Saturday’s game will face two top face-off players in the NHL with Jordan Staal (6th, 58.5%) and Nico Hischier (10th, 57%)

The Devils are one of three teams tied for most comeback wins this season at 20. The Edmonton Oilers and Dallas Stars are the other two clubs.

Injuries:

Devils

Dougie Hamilton (torn pectoral muscle, LTIR)

Hurricanes

Jake Guentzel (upper body, IR)

--Catherine Bogart, NJD.tv