The NHL released the first-round schedule for Carolina’s best-of-seven playoff series with New Jersey.

Game 1: New Jersey at Carolina, Sunday, April 20 (3 p.m.)

TV: FanDuel Sports, ESPN

Tickets: Ticketmaster link

Game 2: New Jersey at Carolina, Tuesday, April 22 (6 p.m.)

TV: FanDuel Sports, ESPN

Tickets: Ticketmaster link

Game 3: Carolina at New Jersey, Friday, April 25 (8 p.m.)

TV: FanDuel Sports, TBS

Game 4: Carolina at New Jersey, Sunday, April 27 (3:30 p.m.)

TV: FanDuel Sports, TBS

Game 5*: New Jersey at Carolina, Tuesday, April 29 (TBD)

TV: FanDuel Sports, TBD

Game 6*: Carolina at New Jersey, Friday, May 2 (TBD)

TV: FanDuel Sports, TBD

Game 7*: New Jersey at Carolina, Sunday, May 4 (TBD)

TV: FanDuel Sports, TBD

* – if necessary

Carolina is making its seventh consecutive appearance in the playoffs under coach Rod Brind’Amour.

The Hurricanes are the No. 2 seed out of the Metropolitan Division, while New Jersey is the No. 3 seed. The winner will play the winner of top-seed Washington vs. Montreal, which earned a wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.

The Hurricanes and Devils split four games this season. The teams have met five times in the playoffs with the Hurricanes winning four series, including a 4-1 series win in the second round in 2023.

Carolina concludes its regular season Thursday night at Ottawa. The Hurricanes rested some of their regulars in Wednesday’s loss to Montreal. Carolina played prospects Bradly Nadeau, Skyler Brind’Amour and Domenick Fensore in the loss.

Carolina signed defenseman and top prospect Alexander Nikishin last week. Nikishin, who played in the Russian KHL this season, is en route to the United States after acquiring a U.S. visa. He could make his NHL debut in the playoffs, particularly if the Hurricanes have injuries along the blue line.

“He absolutely could step in and make us say the first time we have an opening, we need to get this guy in,” Hurricanes general manager Eric Tulsky said. “Earning it, taking a job away from someone probably requires getting into a game and showing what he can do.”

Stat leaders:

Goals: Carolina – Seth Jarvis (32), Sebastian Aho (29), Jack Roslovic (21); New Jersey — Nico Hischier (35), Jack Hughes (27), Timo Meier (26)

Assists: Carolina — Sebastian Aho (45), Shayne Gostisbehere (37), Seth Jarvis (35), Andrei Svechnikov (27); New Jersey — Jesper Bratt (67), Jack Hughes (43), Luke Hughes (37), Nico Hischier (34)

Wins: Carolina – Pyotr Kochetkov (27-16-3, 2.60 GAA), Frederik Andersen (13-7-1, 2.29 GAA); New Jersey – Jacob Markstrom (26-16-6, 2.50), Jake Allen (13-16-1, 2.66)

Carolina Hurricanes vs. New Jersey Devils playoff preview

WRAL Sports multimedia journalist Pat Welter and WRAL senior digital producer Mark Bergin answered some of the biggest questions facing the Carolina Hurricanes before the start of the playoffs.

What was your first reaction to hearing the Canes would play the New Jersey Devils?

Mark Bergin: I couldn’t help but think of actor Patrick Warburton’s portrayal of David Puddy on “Seinfeld” and Puddy’s fandom of the Devils.

As the “face painter” puts it, “You gotta support the team,” regardless of which team you support.

The Canes are the only NHL team to win a playoff series in each of the last six seasons.

However, the Canes have yet to win a game in the conference finals during Brind’Amour’s coaching tenure, let alone trying to achieve the ultimate goal of winning a Stanley Cup.

Patrick Welter: It’s a team the Canes can beat. It’s a rematch from their second-round series two years ago.

The 2023 Devils team was ahead of schedule. After New Jersey missed the playoffs last year, the Canes are going to see them again.

Carolina’s depth and experience should be enough to get them into the second round, but New Jersey has some high-end skill.  Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes are two of the most exciting young players in the league.  Luckily for Carolina, Hughes is out for the season after undergoing shoulder surgery.

Which Canes player are you most excited to watch in the 2025 playoffs?

Bergin: Sebastian Aho is a fan favorite and for good reason. 

The 27-year-old led the team in scoring. He’s also posted double-digit points in each of the Canes’ last six playoff appearances.

Welter: Seth Jarvis. He’s always been the best Canes player to talk to, and now, he’s becoming one of their best on the ice as well.

Jarvis put together another 30-goal season this year and is Carolina’s best finisher. He’s becoming a star and the Canes are going to need him to play like one.  

What do you make of the Alexander Nikishin signing?

Bergin: It feels like good juju after the Canes’ trade for Mikko Rantanen resulted in a 13-game cameo in Carolina. The Canes then traded Rantanen to the Dallas Stars.

Alexander Nikishin is the Canes’ top prospect.

However, I’m not sure what type of playoff impact, if any, Nikishin will have.

The Canes typically play Brent Burns, Jalen Chatfield, Shayne Gostisbehere, Dmitry Orlov, Jaccob Slavin and Sean Walker as their defensemen.

Welter: Nikishin is one of the top prospects in the NHL and did incredible things in the KHL.  He’s the kind of player who can prolong Carolina’s Stanley Cup window and propel the team into the future.

How much he will contribute during this Cup run remains to be seen.

At a minimum, he’s injury insurance, and someone who can provide some offense as a defenseman.

Long-term, he’s potentially Carolina’s next star. 

Which Devils player should the Canes be most concerned about?

Bergin: Carolina won’t have to deal with Jack Hughes. The Devils announced in April that Hughes would undergo shoulder surgery and miss the remainder of the season.

With Hughes out, the Devils’ core of left winger Jesper Bratt and center Nico Hischier have produced.

It will be vital for the Canes to limit Bratt’s scoring opportunities. He leads the Devils in scoring and assists. He’s also extremely durable, having played in 82 regular-season games in each of three seasons.

Welter: There’s a lot of former Canes on the Devils, Stefan Noesen, Erik Haula, Dougie Hamilton, to name a few. 

But the player they should be most concerned with is Nico Hischier. Carolina is the better team, but Hischier is arguably the most talented player in the series.

As we’ve seen in Carolina’s previous playoff series, sometimes someone who can just finish is the difference. With Jack Hughes out, Carolina can focus on limiting Hischier.  

Who or what is the X factor in the series?

Bergin: I’ll go with the performance of Devils goalie Jacob Markstrom. The Canes rank third in the NHL in shots on goal, according to StateMuse.

Keeping the puck out of the net is vital if the Devils want to upset the Hurricanes.

Welter: Goaltending.

Carolina has had a lot of adversity with their goaltenders the last few years. This year, the Canes enter the playoffs with Freddie Andersen and Pyotr Kochetkov healthy and both have playoff experience. I expect both to play in this series, with Andersen getting the first opportunities.

Carolina’s goaltending hasn’t been bad in the postseason. The problem has been in the series the Canes have lost, it’s been that they’ve faced someone even better.

Source: wral.com