"Brooms": 2025-26 Regular Season, Game 72: Carolina Hurricanes vs. New Jersey Devils

The Hurricanes' magic number continues to shrink with each passing day, but there's no more reliable team than your own this time of the year. The group begins a big weekend with a division battle, the final meeting of the season between the Canes and the New Jersey Devils. The team gets a big weapon back into the lineup as Shayne Gostisbehere plays for the first time since the beginning of the month in Edmonton. He returns to a red-hot power play and a defensive partner who has been a big part of it. The Devils don't have a ton to play for this late in the season, but they wouldn't mind playing the spoiler for the Canes in their bid for the division crown. This has the chance to be a tone-setting contest ahead of tomorrow's battle against the Canadiens, but there's no bigger game than the one right in front of them. 

Scoring Summary

1st Period

NJD (17:06)- Timo Meier (22) (Dawson Mercer (20) & Nico Hischier (30))

2nd Period

CAR (10:10-PP)- Nikolaj Ehlers (23) (Alexander Nikishin (19) & Taylor Hall (24))

CAR (13:48)- Jackson Blake (21) (Taylor Hall (25) & Shayne Gostisbehere (33))

CAR (15:13)- Jordan Staal (19) (Nikolaj Ehlers (38) & Jordan Martinook (14))

3rd Period

CAR (15:25)- Shayne Gostisbehere (12) (unassisted)

CAR (17:40- SH, EN)- Seth Jarvis (30) (Sean Walker (17))

NJD (19:37)- Evgenii Dadonov (1) (Jonathan Kovacevic (5) & Brendan Dillon (12))

My Thoughts

I didn't think the Canes played a bad first period, especially at the start. They were getting shots toward Jacob Markstrom that were being stopped. It wasn't until they started taking penalties that things changed. Jordan Staal took a necessary one to prevent a goal, but Taylor Hall's trip was a bit more uncalled for. To their credit, the Canes killed both of them. However, they never regained their stride, allowing New Jersey to score first. While the end of the period was a struggle, the response in the second period was excellent. Eventually, they started to find results. For as rough as second periods have been for them lately, tonight was the complete opposite. They scored three times to completely deflate the Devils, allowing them to pull away for good.

At the forefront of the push was the Stankoven line. All three played great tonight. It originally felt like it was going to be a night when they were so close but wouldn't get rewarded. Instead, they just needed to be patient. Taylor Hall had two helpers in the game. The first was on the power play as he entered the zone. The second was to Jackson Blake. Shayne Gostisbehere made a great stick play at the blue line to keep a puck in, getting it to Hall. He sent it to Blake, who exhibited excellent patience to move around a sliding defender and threw the puck against the grain to beat Markstrom. The line finished the night with 11 shots, led by Stankoven's six, and three points, leading the charge for the team offensively.

Brandon Bussi drew the assignment to begin this back-to-back. This was easily the best he has looked since the Olympic break. It was his quietest game, in the right ways. He didn't come out of the net and misplay the puck. He challenged at the right times and fought off a ton of quality New Jersey chances. He didn't have a chance on the opening goal, though the one he allowed late on a 2-on-1 wasn't very fun to see. Still, when you look at the players who didn't have points for the Devils, it's an impressive list. Jack Hughes had some chances, but he didn't get a point. Jesper Bratt had some chances, but he didn't get a point. Nico Hischier probably should've had more than one assist. Bussi only had to make 17 stops to get the win, though that's not to say that he wasn't impressive. This feels like a step in the right direction for him. Now, Bussi needs to find this consistency again.

It's very hard to sweep a team when you play them four times a year. It's even harder to do it with four wins in regulation. That's exactly what the Hurricanes did to the Devils with their win tonight. They've all been multi-goal wins, too. The Canes outscored the Devils, 18-7, in the season series. It was a very one-sided series. They're on the other side of it against the Montreal Canadiens, who they'll see tomorrow night. The Habs have won both games by multiple goals, including Tuesday's clash in Montreal. The Canes must use the momentum they gained tonight. They own the favorable scheduling advantage, with Montreal coming to Raleigh after facing Nashville tonight. They'll have to earn it.

First Star of the Game: Taylor Hall

There was no shortage of good performances tonight for the Hurricanes. While I think you could make a case for Nikolaj Ehlers or Shayne Gostisbehere in his return, I'm going with Taylor Hall against his old team, again. He drew the penalty that gave the Canes their first power play before earning the secondary assist by carrying the puck into the zone. Then, he got the primary helper on Blake's tally. Hall reached 40 points for the season with the second assist. 

Around the League

Pittsburgh: Without Crosby or Malkin again, the Penguins had their hands full against the Stars on Saturday, losing 6-3, despite pulling within a goal with plenty of time remaining in regulation.

Columbus: Entering the third period with a 2-1 lead, the Blue Jackets couldn't hold it, allowing the go-ahead goal with 1:25 left to lose a valuable point against the Sharks. 

New York (I): The Islanders found themselves in an early 2-0 hole, but five unanswered goals in the second period were more than enough to earn a big win over the Panthers on Long Island.

Current Standings

Carolina: 98 Points (10 GR)

New York: 89 Points (8 GR)

Pittsburgh: 88 Points (9 GR)

Columbus: 87 Points (WC2; 10 GR)

Next Up: The Canes complete their back-to-back on Sunday night at the Lenovo Center, looking for a better result against the visiting Montreal Canadiens. The Habs have already secured the season series against the Canes, so this will be all about pride. The end of March and the start of April will look similar, with Carolina and Columbus playing a home-and-home on Tuesday and Thursday. They'll start in Columbus before finishing the set in Raleigh.