NHL Playoffs Round 1 – Game 3 Preview: Carolina Hurricanes vs. New Jersey Devils (April 25, 2025)
The Devils are down bad. At 2-0, they’re getting outplayed, outworked, and outcoached by the Hurricanes. Now they’re heading back to Newark, where the Jersey crowd will be fired up and wanting, no, expecting a response. Carolina’s playing like a team that knows who it is with tight gaps, clean breakouts, and no wasted movement. The Devils? They need resuscitation. Something, anything, to change the momentum and stop the hemorrhaging. They need to win Game 3 at The Rock to stay in the series and to show that they deserve to be there at all.
Game Info
Below is the who, what, when, and where for the game:
- Date & Time: Friday, April 25, 8:00 pm ET
- Location: Prudential Center, Newark, NJ
- Broadcast: TBS | Streaming on Max
- Series: Carolina leads 2-0
Team Snapshots
The Hurricanes are playing the kind of structured, suffocating hockey that stalls breakouts and clogs the lanes. The Devils, who depend on pacing and some open ice, have been left spinning their wheels (skates) in transition. New Jersey’s built for speed, but they haven’t found a lot of clean entries, let alone rebound chances.
Carolina Hurricanes
- Regular Season: 47-30-5
- Key Players: Sebastian Aho centers the top line and drives play in all three zones, Jarvis has been dangerous, and Staal anchors one of the best shutdown units in the whole league.
- Goaltending: Andersen (2.50 GAA), Kochetkov (2.60 GAA): Both goalies are tracking pucks well, squaring up cleanly, and keeping rebounds under wraps.
- Playoff Style: Tight gaps, aggressive sticks in passing lanes, relentless puck pursuit. They wear teams down shift by shift.
New Jersey Devils
- Regular Season: 42-33-7
- Key Players: Jesper Bratt opened the scoring last game, Hischier has been solid in transition but hasn’t finished, and Hughes is still trying to find time and space with Carolina’s D collapsing fast.
- Goaltending: Markstrom (2.50 GAA) has held up really well, but he’s been under heavy siege. Allen (2.66 GAA) gives them depth when they need it.
- Playoff Style: They rely heavily on stretch passes and quick puck movement, but their zone entries have been disrupted constantly. Finishing around the net has been a real problem.
Injury Watch
Both teams have some questions about their lineups, but it isn’t anything that will move the needle as of now.
| Team | Details |
|---|---|
Devils | Luke Hughes and Brenden Dillon are day-to-day. Hughes brings a lot of mobility on the blue line, and Dillon is their sandpaper. If neither one plays? The defensive pairings will thin out fast. |
Hurricanes | Jesper Fast is out long-term after having neck surgery, but they plugged the gap, and there’s been no decrease in energy. |
Game 2 Recap
New Jersey got on the board first with a goal by Bratt, but that was pretty much the only high point. Carolina shrugged it off, ramped up the forecheck, slowed the game down, and started winning board battles in all three zones. Three unanswered goals later, they’d taken total control, and it was dunzo.
- Final Score: Hurricanes 3, Devils 1
- Momentum Turners: Martinook chipped in with a goal and an assist, and Carolina’s bottom six kept pinning the Devils deep.
- Takeaway: Carolina’s depth is showing up in a huge way; they’re rolling their third and fourth lines with alarming confidence, and the Devils don’t have any kind of answer.
Key Matchups to Watch
Neutral zone structure, second-effort plays, and puck management will carry a lot more weight than any single rush in this game. Execution is everything, and here’s who you should be watching:
- Between the Pipes: Andersen’s rebound control has been dialed in, and Markstrom is holding strong despite the heavy ice traffic. One soft goal could change it all.
- Neutral Zone Play: Carolina’s 1-2-2 setup is jamming up the Devils’ rush game. New Jersey needs to have clean exits and short support, or they’ll keep coughing it up at the red line.
- Barn Buzz: The crowd’s going to be loud—it’s NJ, for Pete’s sake. But that won’t matter much unless the Devils do something with last change. If they use it to get favorable looks for Hughes or Bratt? That’s where things could start to turn.
Current Betting Odds and Line Movement
If you’re betting on Game 3, this is where FanDuel has the numbers as of now:
| Team | Spread | Moneyline | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
Hurricanes | -1.5 (+154) | -170 | Over 5.5 (+104) |
Devils | +1.5 (-192) | +140 | Under 5.5 (-128) |
Yesterday Betting Odds
- Moneyline: Hurricanes -155 | Devils +140
- Total Goals (O/U): 5.5
- Puck Line: Hurricanes -1.5 (+160) | Devils +1.5 (-190)
The Canes are the road favorites, which says a lot about how they’ve controlled the first two games. New Jersey as a home dog is attractive, but only if you believe that they can get their act together in the D-zone.
Our Prediction
Final Score Prediction: Hurricanes 3, Devils 2
What we’re watching for: Expect New Jersey to come out hard and fast—they’ve got the last change and a crowd that is rallying behind them. But if they can’t get a second or third goal past Andersen, it’ll come down to whether their blue line can hold late. Carolina is scarily efficient, and their forecheck is tailor-made for protecting leads.
Our Best Bet
- Wager: Under 5.5 Total Goals
Why we like it: Carolina’s game plan isn’t built for barnburners. They slow down the pace, play hard minutes along the walls, and take the air out of the puck. New Jersey should be more defensively responsible at home, too, especially if Hughes and Dillon return. Add in two hyper-focused goalies and you’ve got the makings for a 2-1 or 3-2 kind of night.
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Conclusion: Must-Win Mode
Game 3 is do-or-die time for the Devils. They can’t afford to let Carolina go up 3-0, or the series is headed for a blowout. In order to stay alive, they’d need to win the next four consecutive games to advance. That could happen, but could it really?
Look below for a quick recap of what you need to know about the Hurricanes vs. the Devils Game 3:
- The Devils need to bury one early and stay disciplined! Too many penalties have annihilated their flow.
- Carolina is methodical, physical, and rolling four lines with no visible panic.
- We’re backing Carolina to take a stranglehold, and leaning toward a low-event, tight-checking game.
- Best Bet: Under 5.5 goals
