On Sunday, Jan. 4, the New Jersey Devils are getting ready to host the Carolina Hurricanes. They are now on a two-game winning streak, after beating the Utah Mammoth 4-1 on Jan 3. With the second half of a back-to-back against a difficult opponent in the Hurricanes, the Devils will pull out all the stops to try and get the win.
Related: 3 Takeaways from Devils’ Confidence-Driven 4-1 Victory Over Mammoth
Luckily for the Devils, the Hurricanes are also on the second half of a back-to-back. They just hosted the Colorado Avalanche yesterday and lost 5-3. With a tired Carolina team after a game the day before and travel, the Devils might have a chance.
The Devils and Hurricanes opened their 2025-26 NHL season against one another on Oct. 9 in a playoff rematch. The Hurricanes won their home opener 6-3 and handed the Devils their first loss of the season. Since the Devils are on home ice, let’s see if the home team will have all the luck in this season series.
Devils Storylines
With Jacob Markstrom having a stellar performance last night, Jake Allen will be the starting goaltender tonight. Allen has some big shoes to fill after Markstrom recorded a save percentage (SV%) of .968 after only allowing one goal from 31 shots. Allen kicked off the Devils’ win streak with his .943 SV% on two shots on Dec. 31. With Allen back in the win column, he’ll do his best to keep the Devils in the game tonight against the Hurricanes.
The Devils had a full team effort last night, as their four goals were scored by four different players. Jesper Bratt, Timo Meier, Nico Hischier, and Dougie Hamilton all scored goals. Brett Pesce and Jack Hughes recorded two assists each, while Dawson Mercer, Bratt, and Luke Glendening all recorded one.
With eight players on the scoresheet, other players pulled their weight without recording a point. Jonas Siegenthaler was a huge piece of the Devils’ defense, on top of Pesce and Hamilton. In order to take down the Hurricanes tonight, they’ll need another full team effort like they did yesterday.
The player to watch in this game is Nico Hischier. He scored a goal against the Mammoth on Saturday, after Hughes’ shot bounced off his knee. In this game, let’s see if he can get a goal off a real shot, especially since it’s the captain’s birthday.
Team Stats
New Jersey Devils
Season Record: 22-17-2
Top Scorers:
- Jesper Bratt – 9 goals (G), 24 assists (A), 33 points (P)
- Nico Hischier – 12 G, 20 A, 32 P
- Timo Meier – 12 G, 13 A, 25 P
- Dawson Mercer – 10 G, 15 A, 25 P
- Jack Hughes – 11 G, 13 A, 24 P
Goalie Stats:
- Jake Allen – 11-8-1, 2.52 goals-against average (GAA), .912 SV%
- Jacob Markstrom – 10-9-1, 3.20 GAA, .888 SV%
- Nico Daws – 1-0-0, 1.00 GAA, .968 SV%
Carolina Hurricanes
Season Record: 24-14-3
Top Scorers:
- Sebastian Aho – 17 G, 25 A, 42 P
- Andrei Svechnikov – 12 G, 19 A, 31 P
- Nikolaj Ehlers – 10 G, 20 A, 30 P
- Seth Jarvis – 19 G, 10 A, 29 P
- Shayne Gostisbehere – 4 G, 25 A, 29 P
Goalie Stats:
- Frederik Andersen – 5-10-2, 3.43 GAA, .867 SV%
- Brandon Bussi – 13-2-1, 2.33 GAA, .901 SV%
- Pyotr Kochetkov – 6-2-0, 2.33 GAA, .899 SV%
- Cayden Primeau – 2-1-0, 4.30 GAA, .838 SV%
Projected Lineups
(Subject to change before puck drop)
As per The Hockey Writers’ projected lineup article.
New Jersey Devils
Jack Hughes — Nico Hischier — Jesper Bratt
Timo Meier — Dawson Mercer — Arseni Gritsyuk
Ondrej Palat — Cody Glass — Connor Brown
Juho Lammikko — Luke Glendening — Stefan Noesen
Jonas Siegenthaler — Dougie Hamilton
Luke Hughes — Brett Pesce
Brenden Dillon — Colton White
Jake Allen
Jacob Markstrom
Scratched: Paul Cotter, Dennis Cholowski
Injured: Evgenii Dadonov, Zack MacEwen, Marc McLaughlin, Simon Nemec, Johnathan Kovacevic
Carolina Hurricanes
Nikolaj Ehlers — Sebastian Aho — Andrei Svechnikov
Taylor Hall — Mark Jankowski — Jackson Blake
Jordan Martinook — Jordan Staal — Logan Stankoven
William Carrier — Jesperi Kotkaniemi — Eric Robinson
Shayne Gostisbehere — Sean Walker
K’Andre Miller — Jalen Chatfield
Alexander Nikishin — Joel Nystrom
Brandon Bussi
Frederik Andersen
Scratched: Noah Philp, Mike Reilly
Injured: Seth Jarvis, Charles-Alexis Legault, Jaccob Slavin, Pyotr Kochetkov
Next Up for the Devils
The Devils will head to Long Island to take on the New York Islanders on Tuesday, Jan. 6.
The season series between the Hurricanes and Devils will continue on Jan. 17 in New Jersey.
