Playoff Rivalry Renews As Canes Face Devils

RALEIGH, N.C. - When the puck drops for Round 1, Game 1 of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Carolina Hurricanes will be facing off against a familiar foe.

Set to duel with the New Jersey Devils for the sixth time in franchise history, the Canes have a rich playoff past with their rivals from the Garden State. Their prior five playoff meetings make New Jersey the third-most frequent matchup for Carolina - trailing only Boston and Montreal with seven apiece - but the Hurricanes' four series wins and 18 total playoff victories over the Devils are their most against any opponent.

As we gear up for the latest edition of this postseason rivalry, take a look at some of its biggest moments to date...

2001, Round 1 - NJD Wins Series 4-2

The first iteration of Canes vs. Devils in the Stanley Cup Playoffs came in Carolina's second trip to the postseason after relocating to Raleigh. The top-seeded Devils raced out to a 3-0 lead over the eighth-ranked Canes, including back-to-back shutout victories in Games 3 and 4, but the Canes fought back to force Game 6. The comeback came up short, though, as New Jersey took the series with a 5-1 victory in Raleigh.

New Jersey went on to win the Eastern Conference Final before falling to the Colorado Avalanche in a seven-game Stanley Cup Final.

Key Moments

• Martin Brodeur held the Canes scoreless from late in Game 1 to early in Game 4, totaling a shutout streak of 130:33 to help his club take an early stranglehold on the series.
• Rod Brind'Amour scored the game-winning goal in overtime to cap off a three-point performance in Game 4, keeping the Canes alive and avoiding a sweep.
• Following up Brind'Amour's Game 4 heroics, Jeff O'Neill led Carolina to victory in Game 5 with a goal and an assist in New Jersey.

2002, Round 1 - CAR Wins Series 4-2

The Canes didn't have to wait long for their postseason rematch with the Devils, squaring off in the first round again just one year after falling in 2001. Despite posting four fewer points than New Jersey in the regular season, as a division winner, Carolina held home-ice advantage in the 3 vs. 6 seed matchup and put it to use with a pair of home wins to kick off the series. The Devils held serve in New Jersey, though, ultimately making it a best-of-three from there.

Returning to Raleigh, Carolina picked up a key OT victory in Game 5 to push the Devils to the brink before finishing the job on the road in Game 6. The win marked Carolina's first playoff series win since relocation, and as was the case the year prior, the winner of the CAR/NJD matchup enjoyed a lengthy postseason run as the Canes made their first Stanley Cup Final appearance later that spring.

Key Moments

• Two quick strikes from Rod Brind'Amour and Erik Cole put the Devils on the back foot in Game 1 - one of only two games in the series in which Carolina grabbed the first lead.
• Bates Battaglia's overtime winner in Game 2 ensured the Canes traveled north with a pair of wins in tow, despite his club taking the lone penalty in the extra frame.
• Needing a response in Game 5 but finding themselves down by a goal late, Jeff O'Neill bagged the tying tally at 18:31 to force overtime and Josef Vasicek recorded the decisive goal to push the Hurricanes to within a win of advancing.
• After Martin Brodeur blanked the Canes in Game 3, Kevin Weekes responded in Game 6 with a 32-save shutout on the road to carry the Canes to the series-deciding win. Ron Francis netted the only goal of that game.

2006, Round 2 - CAR Wins Series 4-1

After the Hurricanes survived a rollercoaster first round against the Montreal Canadiens, they entered a heavyweight tilt against the Devils. New Jersey was coming off of a sweep of the New York Rangers in Round 1, but the Canes had hit their stride and quickly raced out to a 3-0 series lead. The Devils saved their season with a win in Game 4, but Carolina finished things off on home ice with a 4-1 victory in Game 5.

Two series wins later, the Canes were hoisting Lord Stanley's Cup at RBC Center as they celebrated North Carolina's first major pro sports championship.

Key Moments

• Led by three points from Eric Staal, two goals from Ray Whitney and three other 1G, 1A showings, the Canes blitzed the Devils in Game 1 and remain one of just two teams to put six goals past Martin Brodeur in a playoff game.
• Game 2 nearly got away from Carolina after Scott Gomez's go-ahead goal put New Jersey on top with 21 seconds remaining in regulation. But the "relentless" Canes still had gas in the tank, and Eric Staal poked home a tying tally with three seconds to play. In overtime, the unlikely "secret weapon" Niclas Wallin stepped up with a shorthanded goal to complete the comeback and give the Canes a 2-0 series lead.
• Rod Brind'Amour grabbed the game-winner late in the second period of Game 3. It was his fourth game-deciding goal of that playoff run, which remains the franchise record for GWGs in a single postseason. Brind'Amour also holds the franchise record for most career playoff game-winners with six.

2009, Round 1 - CAR Wins Series 4-3

The longest series in Canes/Devils playoff history was also arguably its most chaotic, with each team trading wins through the first six games before Carolina broke the pattern in a stunning Game 7. The Devils held the higher seed and drew first blood, but an OT win for the Canes leveled the series as it shifted to Raleigh. There, the script flipped, with New Jersey taking Game 3 in overtime and Carolina responding with a Game 4 victory.

Back-to-back shutouts - one for each team - ensued, setting the stage for a winner-take-all Game 7 that became etched in Canes history forever as they stunned the Devils late to take the series.

Key Moments

• Tim Gleason only scored in overtime once in his playing career, and he picked the perfect time to do it, sealing Carolina's come-from-behind win in Game 2 to level the series ahead of two games on home ice.
• After dropping Game 3 in OT, the Canes faced a third straight game with an extra frame until, literally, the last second of Game 4, when Jussi Jokinen deflected a Dennis Seidenberg blast from the blue line past Martin Brodeur with just 0.2 left on the clock. Jokinen's winner remains tied for the latest go-ahead goal in Stanley Cup Playoff history.
• After Brodeur slammed the door on the Canes with a 44-save shutout in Game 5, Cam Ward fired back with a 28-save goose egg in Game 5.
• Truly one of the most iconic finishes in NHL playoff history, the Hurricanes' victory in Game 7 was one minute and 20 seconds away from being a footnote in the team's postseason lore. Trailing by one with their season on the line in the final two minutes of regulation, more late heroics from Jussi Jokinen tied the game and seemingly forced the series' third OT. But Eric Staal had other plans and, 48 seconds later, rifled a wrister from the right wing past Brodeur's blocker to complete "The Shock At The Rock" and send the Canes to the Eastern Conference Final.

2023, Round 2 - CAR Wins Series 4-1

After 14 years without a head-to-head matchup in the playoffs, the Hurricanes and Devils renewed pleasantries just two years ago in the second round of the 2023 postseason. Coming off their third straight division title, the Canes blasted New Jersey by a combined score of 12-2 through the first two contests in Raleigh, but were held up in Game 3 as the Devils took a rousing 8-4 victory.

A pivotal Game 4 followed, and Carolina left no doubt with another 6-1 decision to come back to North Carolina with a chance to advance. Game 5 featured the only one-goal deficit of the set, and with their home crowd behind them, it was the Hurricanes sealing the series in overtime.

Key Moments

• The Hurricanes' offense was unstoppable in this series, tallying three or more goals in every game en route to a franchise-record 24 goals. Their output ranks as the 13th highest-scoring performance by one team in a five-game playoff series in NHL history.
• Jordan Martinook was held off the scoresheet throughout Round 1, but found his stride in a massive way with a franchise-record four consecutive multi-point games to start the second-round series against the Devils. Including 10 points in five games in that matchup, the Canes' alternate captain finished with 12 points that postseason, which today ranks tied with Sebastian Aho for the highest-scoring playoff run among active Hurricanes.
• After New Jersey struck back with an 8-4 romp at home in Game 3, the Devils threatened to take control of Game 4 after an early strike from Jack Hughes. Steadying the ship, Martin Necas netted the next two goals to kick off a run of six unanswered for the Canes as they cruised to victory and a 3-1 series lead.
• The lone OT game of the series needed a hero, and Jesper Fast was happy to play the part. Providing a netfront presence on the power play, No. 71 got a stick to Jesperi Kotkaniemi's wrist shot and guided the puck home, earning a well-deserved dogpile in the corner as he clinched the Canes' second Eastern Conference Final appearance in five years.