The New Jersey Devils are one of the youngest and most talented teams in the NHL, and after losing to the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinal on Thursday, ending their season, they vowed that their championship window is just opening.

“We'll be back,” forward Erik Haula said, according to NHL.com's Mike Morreale.

The team expressed disappointment in the loss, but optimism for the future after being eliminated with a 3-2 overtime loss to the Hurricanes at PNC Arena in Raleigh on Thursday night.

“I don't think anybody counted us in, but here we were,” Devils captain Nico Hischier said.

The Devils were one of the great stories in 2022-23, finishing third in the league and losing to the team that finished just a point above them.

Jack Hughes had a breakout year, brother Luke Hughes proved that he's already up to the challenge of playing in the show, and the team put together its best campaign in over a decade.

“I said in the morning they were going to give me everything they had, and they gave me everything they had,” coach Lindy Ruff said. “I told them I'm proud of the task we had in front of us and how we executed and where we got to.”

The Devils ran into a Hurricanes team that was firing on all cylinders, even without three of their top players. They played fast hockey but were stingy defensively, and got timely scoring and great goaltending from Frederik Andersen. They're a favorite to win the Stanley Cup in 2023.

New Jersey can hold its head high after qualifying for the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2018 and winning a round for the first time since 2012. Beating a New York Rangers team that was widely expected to at least compete for the Eastern Conference crown is something the entire squad should be proud of.

“I don't think it matters about young team or whatever,” Jack Hughes said. “We all got some serious playoff action. We won a round, but we're a competitive group and want to go deeper.”