Devils Fall to Hurricanes in Upsetting Divisional Matchup

Published: Saturday, January 17, 2026

by Ryan Fox

NEWARK, N.J. - The New Jersey Devils (24-22-2) once again fell to the Carolina Hurricanes (30-15-4) 4-1 in a Saturday night divisional battle.

New Jersey entered Saturday's matchup after a recent home overtime win against the Seattle Kraken this past Wednesday, while Carolina was coming off their explosive 9-1 win against the Florida Panthers on Friday. 

Lenni Hämeenaho, a player for the New Jersey Devils AHL affiliate, the Utica Comets, was expected to play due to Ondřej Palát not dressing due to illness. However, Hämeenaho did not end up playing. 

Moreover, Saturday’s contest marked star winger Jesper Bratt’s 600th career NHL game, playing all 600 with the New Jersey Devils organization.

The first period opened up strong for the Devils as they held the Hurricanes to four total shots throughout the first 20 minutes of play. 

Early on, New Jersey was sent to the first power play of the game where Sean Walker was called for a tripping call on Paul Cotter. New Jersey failed to capitalize on the man advantage, sending the game back to even strength for the teams to duke it out five on five. 

As for the remainder of the first period, the Devils outshot the Hurricanes 8-4, where they searched to get on the board. The game would resume play during the second period.

The second period opened up with fast paced action on both sides, as New Jersey was eager to extend their win streak to two. 

Carolina came into tonight’s game off an absolute heater against the Panthers, where they definitely showed their scoring potential after Andrei Svechnikov got the Hurricanes on the board first, doubling down for two goals just a minute apart from one another. The second closed out with the Devils down, but not out.

Early in the third, Carolina’s Sean Walker was sent to the box for the third time of the night, where New Jersey was able to finally score on the opportunity, with a wrist shot from Timo Meier, his 13th of the season. 

After Meier’s goal, it was evident that the Devils had the gas pedal floored, with multiple impressive opportunities on Carolina’s netminder, Frederik Andersen. 

Four minutes after New Jersey got on the board, Jackson Blake got another puck past Markström, putting the Hurricanes up 3-1 with 11 and a half minutes left of play. 

New Jersey remained vigilant leading up to the end of the game, but with just over three minutes left, Andrei Svechnikov netted his third of the game, giving him the hat trick, and the first star of the night.

Carolina now sits at first place within the metropolitan division, while New Jersey sits at sixth. New Jersey will look to bounce back this Monday against the Calgary Flames with a 9:00 p.m. puck drop.

Ryan Fox can be reached at ryan.fox@student.shu.edu.

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