The last time the New Jersey Devils made the playoffs in 2023, the run was cut short by a hot Carolina Hurricanes team in Round 2. Now, the Devils have a shot at redemption as the clubs meet in the First Round of the 2025 postseason.
In the four games between these teams during the regular season, the results were split evenly with two wins apiece. Reflecting on these matchups can provide insight on how the Devils' skaters need to tighten up their game to advance to the next round of the playoffs.
New Jersey Devils must pay special attention to special teams
On paper, the Devils have strong numbers on both the power play and penalty kill, and it will be crucial to take advantage of those opportunities.
The Devils rank second in the NHL with an 82.7% success rate on the penalty kill, topped only by the league-leading Hurricanes with 84.3% on the PK. Meanwhile, New Jersey finished at 28.2% on the power play across the season, good for third-best in the league. This is an area that Carolina had less success -- at 18.5%, the Canes rank in the NHL's bottom six in that category.
During the season series, however, special teams were fairly evenly matched. The Devils managed to score three goals on eight power play opportunities, while the Hurricanes went 2-for-9. Keep in mind, one of those PPGs for Carolina came on a five-minute opportunity after Timo Meier received a major penalty for kneeing.
Despite a 4-4-0 record in the last eight games, the Devils have been putting up good numbers on special teams with a 35.7 PP% and 90.5 PK%. This could be a positive sign as the team makes the transition into postseason hockey this coming weekend.
Especially in an emotionally-charged playoff series, you can expect to see players headed to the box pretty regularly. If the Devils can continue to take advantage of power play chances as well as hunker down against the Hurricanes' struggling man advantage, it could make a big difference in the end result of the series.