The young 2025-26 NHL season hits full swing on Thursday night with a loaded slate with plenty of games throughout the night. At 7:10 p.m. EST, a playoff rematch between the Carolina Hurricanes and New Jersey Devils brings a ton of intrigue as both teams look to take a leap this coming year.
Here’s a Hurricanes vs. Devils prediction and pick on DraftKings Sportsbook for Thursday’s contest.
Hurricanes vs. Devils prediction, preview
Last time these two teams met, the Hurricanes emerged with a standout series win in five games. Now, Carolina has made some offseason moves to hold an even greater advantage after adding Nikolaj Ehlers and K’Andre Miller to the fold, two of the summer’s standout transactions. The Hurricanes have the talent to easily make another run to the playoffs now that they’ve solidified the lineup with additions to a core which already included Seth Jarvis and Sebatian Aho along with Andrei Svechnikov and more. One player who can truly become an X-factor here is Logan Stankoven, the undersized forward acquired via the Mikko Rantanen trade last season. The 22-year-old tallied 17 points in 34 games for Carolina last year and seems in line to potentially take a leap with a full offseason under his belt in the Hurricanes’ system. If the blue line improves a little bit with Miller now added to Jaccob Slavin, Sean Walker and Jacob Chatfield, this looks like a complete team… assuming Frederik Andersen can recapture his playoff form through most of the campaign or Pyotry Kochetkov looks better once healthy.
Looking toward the Devils, the franchise sees a decent shot at making the postseason once more. However, the front office wasn’t nearly as aggressive as their competitors this offseason. With the contract dispute for Luke Hughes now resolves, it feels as though the health of Jack Hughes is what the season’s direction truly hinges on. He played just 62 games in each of the last two campaigns but managed to tally 70+ points in both, and last time he neared a full season’s sample he racked up 99 points in 78 appearances. Of course, Jesper Bratt holds it down on the top line and the acquisition of Evgenii Dadonov could pay dividends as well. Nico Hischier and Timo Meier are both back for more after tallying 50+ points each, but the third and fourth lines are less than inspiring. On the blue line, Dougie Hamilton leads the top pairing with Jonas Siegenthaler, with Luke Hughes in the second pairing but waiting for the opportunity to step up if it arises. The third pairing on defense raises questions, but Jacob Markstrom’s best hockey isn’t yet behind him in net.
Hurricanes vs. Devils pick, best bet
On DraftKings Sportsbook, the Hurricanes enter as -162 home favorites on Wednesday night. The Devils are +136 Moneyline underdogs with the total set at 5.5 goals.
As mentioned earlier, Carolina feels like an even more complete unit than the one which made the Eastern Conference Final last season. While they largely got there with the power of friendship, the Ehlers and Miller acquisitions added some more high-quality talent to the roster and should help the team to elevate its level of play on a nightly basis. While the Hurricanes still don’t have a cream-of-the-crop superstar at the top, they’re well-constructed and will play aggressively on the forecheck to cause problems for the Devils throughout this game. Markstrom may find himself challenged early and often, and while New Jersey can put up a fight, they’re simply outclassed in this contest.
With that in mind, watch for a Hurricanes victory in regulation as Carolina picks up where they left off last time these teams faced off.
