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The New Jersey Devils go into their first-round playoff series against the Carolina Hurricanes with a team that will not be at full strength. Center Jack Hughes is the team's best and most dangerous offensive threat but a shoulder injury last month ended his season. Defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler is out with a lower-body injury that will keep him sidelined until early May.
However, the Devils got good news regarding veteran forward Ondrej Palat. The Devils said Palat will be in the lineup for Sunday's Game 1 against the Hurricanes.
The former member of the Tampa Bay Lightning suffered a lower-body injury in a late-season game against the Boston Bruins and that caused him to miss the regular-season finale against the Detroit Red Wings.
Palat took line rushes during New Jersey's Friday practice session and he reported no ill effects. “I feel good,” Palat said. “It was a good practice today with the group, so I'm happy about that. The players need to embrace the challenge (of the playoffs), playing against [a] very good team. We can't be stressed out; enjoy it. We're playing for Stanley Cup and don't take it for granted.”
Devils hoping to overcome recent history
The Devils finished the regular season with a 42-33-7 record and that was good enough for third place in the Metropolitan Division. They were eight points behind the second-place Hurricanes and will have to overcome Carolina's home-ice advantage if they are going to advance to the second round of the playoffs.
The Devils and Hurricanes split the four-game season series, with each team winning two games at home.
This marks New Jersey's second playoff appearance in the last seven years. They failed to make the playoffs last season, but earned a spot in the 2023 postseason. They defeated the New York Rangers 4-3 in the opening round, and that set up a second-round meeting with the Hurricanes. The Devils dropped that series in five games.
Head coach Sheldon Keefe is depending on Jesper Bratt, Nico Hischier and Timo Meier to carry much of the team's offensive load in this series. Bratt led the Devils with 21 goals and 67 assists for 88 points.
Hischier led the team with 35 goals and 14 of them came on the power play. He also added 34 assists for 69 points. Meier contributed 26 goals and 27 assists for 53 points.
