The New Jersey Devils opened their NHL season with a 6-3 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes at the Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. The game, which was available for viewing on ESPN+ and Hulu and could be heard on the Devils Hockey Network, saw the Devils fighting to keep pace with the Hurricanes through three periods.
Dougie Hamilton scored in the second period to tie the game at 1-1, followed by Cody Glass’s wrist shot that again brought the Devils even with Carolina. In the third period, Jesper Bratt scored after a cross-ice pass from Pesce, tying the game at 3-3.
However, late goals by Seth Jarvis—including an empty-netter—and Eric Robinson pushed the Hurricanes ahead for good. The Devils’ lineup featured Dadonov, Hughes, Bratt, Meier, Hischier, Mercer, Palat, Glass, Brown, Cotter, Glendening, and Gritsyuk on offense. Defensive pairings included Hughes-Pesce, Siegenthaler-Hamilton, and Dillon-Nemec. Markstrom started in goal for New Jersey.
The Hurricanes countered with Ehlers-Aho-Jarvis as their top line and Andersen in goal.
Nico Hischier narrated a segment as the Devils looked ahead to the coming season.
The Devils start their NHL campaign on the road with “some added motivation,” as noted in their pre-game materials.
