The New Jersey Devils and the Carolina Hurricanes meet Thursday in NHL action from the Lenovo Center. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a New Jersey Devils vs. Carolina Hurricanes prediction.
New Jersey Devils Team Preview
The New Jersey Devils come into the 2025-26 season looking to take another step forward after finishing 42-33-7 last year, good for 3rd in a highly competitive Metropolitan division but the stay in the playoffs was short-lived for New Jersey as they were bounced in the first round by these same Hurricanes. The Devils return a good amount of their top-end talent up front, led by Nico Hischier, Jack Hughes and Timo Meier as well as Jesper Bratt, who led the Devils in points with 88 last season and was 5th in the NHL with 67 assists last year. Defensively, Luke Hughes will try to continue improvement after a solid year one in New Jersey, and Dougie Hamilton will hope for a clean bill of health to continue making an impact on New Jersey’s top defensive pairing. Jacob Markstrom will anchor the goal for New Jersey while Jake Allen will hope to provide a serviceable backup for the Devils in 2025-26.
Why the New Jersey Devils will win
- The Devils have won each of their last two road openers as underdogs.
- The Hurricanes have lost four of their last five games.
- The Devils have covered the puck line in each of their last 10 Thursday games as road underdogs.
- The Hurricanes have failed to cover the puck line in four of their last five games.
New Jersey Devils Player Prop Facts
- Jack Hughes has scored at least one goal in each of his last four appearances against Eastern Conference opponents.
- Jack Hughes has recorded at least one assist in seven of his last eight appearances with his team as an underdog against Metropolitan Division opponents.
- Jack Hughes has recorded at least one point in each of his last seven appearances against Eastern Conference opponents.
Carolina Hurricanes Team Preview
The Carolina Hurricanes come into the 2025-26 campaign hoping to fulfill their Stanley Cup aspirations after going 47-30-5 last season, which was good for second in the Metropolitan division. The Hurricanes knocked off the Devils and Capitals before falling to the Florida Panthers in the conference finals. The ‘Canes added a top-line forward option in Nikolaj Ehlers to line up alongside Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov, while Taylor Hall and Seth Jarvis will lead the way on a loaded second line. Jaccob Slavin will lead the defensive pairings for the Hurricanes, and despite some departures like Brent Burns and Dmitry Orlov, the Hurricanes still have solid defensive pieces like Shayne Gostisbehere and Sean Walker to make up a formidable defensive grouping. The Hurricanes have one of the best goaltending rooms in the NHL and it’s led by Frederik Anderson and Pyotr Kochetkov, so much so that’s almost impossible to decipher who is the true number 1 in the Hurricanes’ crease, but time will tell if the Hurricanes can finish the job this season.
Why the Carolina Hurricanes will win
- The Hurricanes have won each of their last 18 home games against Metropolitan Division opponents.
- The Devils have lost each of their last 10 games at Lenovo Center.
- The Hurricanes have covered the puck line in eight of their last nine home games against Metropolitan Division opponents.
- The Devils have failed to cover the puck line in five of their last six road games against Eastern Conference opponents.
Carolina Hurricanes Player Prop Facts
- Nikolaj Ehlers has scored at least one goal in five of his last six appearances with his team as a favorite against the Devils.
- Nikolaj Ehlers has recorded at least one point in 17 of his last 18 appearances with his team as a favorite against Eastern Conference opponents.
- K’Andre Miller has recorded at least one assist in each of his last six appearances in night games.
Total Goals Facts
- Seven of the Devils’ last eight road openers have gone OVER the total goals line.
- Five of the last six games between two teams from the Metropolitan Division have gone UNDER the total goals line.
- Four of the Hurricanes’ last five games against Metropolitan Division opponents have gone UNDER the total goals line.
New Jersey Devils vs. Carolina Hurricanes Prediction
I’m on the Hurricanes here. I just think this is a Hurricanes team that is one of the favorites to win the Stanley Cup for a reason. There’s just far too much talent for some teams to deal with and while I normally like backing teams in a playoff revenge spot, I just think that there isn’t much to suggest we’d get a different result than what we saw in the playoff series last year. Give me Carolina in this one.