Persevering and grinding – that’s how the New Jersey Devils have kept their playoff hopes alive on the big stage this season even with injuries hounding the squad so far. Now they have secured a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference and are set to settle a score with their postseason rivals in the Carolina Hurricanes.

The hopes of shining bright on the playoff stage are alive and well for the Devils after being guaranteed a playoff berth following the New York Rangers’ 8-5 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers. The team that finishes second in the division will have home-ice advantage in the best of seven series, and Carolina is currently holding the Metropolitan’s second spot with a 46-27-4 record as of the time of writing.

New Jersey stood at 41-30-7 when they clinched a playoff spot, and it cannot be denied that they have really found some tough stretches following key injuries to their stars, but then they mustered some impressive strength with whoever is left to play in the season. That has allowed them to come up with late pushes in the campaign, hoping to salvage everything they can from what was initially a promising run in the earlier months.

The Devils’ Grit

Without its top stars, the Devils are entering the postseason with Jesper Bratt at the lead, who has been putting up a career-high 88 points on 21 goals and 67 assists in just 78 games. Captain and forward Nico Hischier has also stepped up big-time for the team as he has tallied 67 points so far with 35 goals and 32 assists. That has been a good look for the team considering how Jack Hughes’ injury has been really tough for them.

Goalie Jacob Markstrom has also been impressive for the team so far and has played a huge role in their rally to the playoff chase – going 26-15-6 with a 2.53 GAA and .899 save percentage in 48 games this season. Backup goalie Jake Allen is 12-15-1 with a 2.59 GAA and .911 save percentage in 29 games and 27 starts.

It has been a massive turnaround after the Devils initially struggled to win without Hughes leading the way. Since then, it has been an impressive stretch where they have managed to capture a couple of key victories to stay afloat in the tight standings of the Eastern Conference, which says a lot about their chances in the offseason.

Revisiting a Rivalry

For the sixth time in five postseason meetings, the Carolina Hurricanes and the New Jersey Devils will be battling against each other. It should be noted that the Canes have won four of the last five postseason matchups, and it is likely that the home-ice advantage will play a huge role in this showdown.

The two teams split their season series at 2-2-0. The Devils last won a playoff series against Carolina way back in the 2001 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, but since then, it has all been Hurricanes who have been whirling the wind in their postseason meetings. In the most recent meeting in 2023, Carolina eliminated the Devils in five games of the Eastern Conference Second Round.

Considering that this will be a promising matchup, the stakes are definitely high for both teams, and it is also safe to say that there’s indeed going to be blazing action involved in all of their games especially with the fact that no other team has the clear advantage over the other heading into the postseason.