Devils vs Hurricanes Game 2 Preview: Devils Look to Bounce Back after Tough Series Opener

Hurricanes Go After a 2-0 Series Lead on Friday Night

Two power plays resulted in no shots on goal by the New Jersey Devils. No other number better typifies how Game 1 played out in the series against the Carolina Hurricanes.

Expect a little more pushback from the Devils when looking at the Devils vs Hurricanes Game 2 odds. Keep in mind that the Devils lead all Metropolitan Division teams with 28 road wins during the regular season and they added a pair of victories at Madison Square Garden after the New York Rangers took the 2-0 lead in the first-round series.

The Hurricanes scored twice in the first period and led 3-0 early in the second period as they cruised to a 5-1 win. The Hurricanes dominated the Devils vs Hurricanes matchup, showcasing their offensive prowess and defensive strength throughout the game.

Carolina protected goalie Frederik Andersen, as he faced just 18 shots.

Rookie goalie Akira Schmid was pulled after allowing three goals on 11 shots. Vitek Vanecek stopped 10 of the 11 shots that he faced.

Carolina (+450) is now tied with the Vegas Golden Knights for the best odds to win the Stanley Cup title. New Jersey is priced at +750 in the NHL playoff odds.

The Hurricanes are priced at -180 in the series odds. Carolina winning in either five or seven games come in at +400 with the Hurricanes needing six games has +450 odds. Those are the same odds for New Jersey taking the series in either six or seven games.

The teams were separated by only one point in the NHL standings during the regular season so this could be a series that takes a while.

Devils Looking to Bounce Back

Fourth-line forward Nathan Bastian accounted for the lone goal in a disappointing opening act for the Devils as New Jersey is playing in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2012. Now it is time to look ahead to the Devils vs Hurricanes Game 2 odds with the game approaching Pick’em status.

Former No. 1 overall picks Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier had no points and were a combined -5. Ondrej Palat, a two-time Stanley Cup champion with Tampa Bay, had a -3 defensive rating and four of the six defensemen posted -2 numbers.

The only goal for the Devils in Game 1 came from winger Nathan Bastian. Bastian finished fourth among New Jersey forwards in time on ice after playing less than 10 minutes six times in the first seven playoff games.

New Jersey lost decisively in the first two games of the opening round series, with both losses coming at home, and still managed to eliminate the New York Rangers in seven games so it is too early to count out this New Jersey team.

Getting Defensive

During the NHL regular season, the Carolina Hurricanes led the way getting multiple goals from defensemen. Now that the playoffs are here, they continue to follow a similar script.

Brett Pesce and Brady Skjei recorded their first goals in this year’s playoffs, they made goalie Frederik Andersen about as comfortable as possible in Game 1. Will it be more the same when it comes to Devils vs Hurricanes Game 2 odds?

Brent Burns and Jaccob Slavin were both +3 as they combined for five hits and just one giveaway.

The Hurricanes got 10 shots and a +9 defensive rating from their defensemen in Game 1. The Devils got four shots on goal from the blue line in the series opener and New Jersey defensemen had 11 of their shots blocked. As a group, they finished -7 in Game 1.

Thanks to the way Carolina jumped out in front, the Hurricanes were able to spread out the minutes. Jesperi Kotkaniemi led the Carolina forwards in ice time as he was out there for 17:55. No other forward topped the 17-minute mark and all of them played at least 12:45.

Handicapping the Series

There were almost as many shots blocked as there were shots on goal in the first game in this series. Look for the offenses to be a little more successful putting pressure on the goalies.

After allowing just one goal in the opening game versus the New York Islanders, the next game in the series went into overtime. Could history be repeating? Only one of the four meetings during the regular season headed into overtime.

The visiting team has won three of the previous seven NHL matchups with just three of the last eight games being decided by one goal.

Keep an eye on the status of Devils forward Timo Meier after he missed the series opener.

New Jersey averaged 18.4 hits per 60 minutes against Carolina during the regular season with Carolina putting up 15.7 hits per game. The numbers jumped to 37 hits by Carolina and 34 by the Devils.

The teams were a combined 0-for-5 on the power play in the series opener with a total of four shots on goal.

The Devils are 4-2 in the playoffs when scoring the first goal. The Hurricanes are 4-0 when opening the scoring in their first seven games in this year’s playoffs.

The Devils are 26-19 against the spread on the road while the Hurricanes covered against the NHL betting lines in just 19 of 45 home games.

Carolina is 49-25-7 when listed as the favorite by the NHL odds while the Devils are 16-10-2 as the underdog.

The Devils won nine straight games during the regular season following a loss in January, February and early March before a 3-4-2 stretch.

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