Devils clinch playoff spot, will face Hurricanes in Round 1
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The New Jersey Devils clinched a playoff spot despite having the night off Wednesday and will face the Carolina Hurricanes in the first round.
The Devils locked up their spot when the New York Rangers suffered an 8-5 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers.
Home-ice advantage remains up for grabs in the first-round series, though the Hurricanes a significant advantage entering the final week of the season. The Hurricanes are seven points ahead of the Devils with a game in hand and can lock up the advantage with one point over their final five games.
The Washington Capitals clinched first place in the Metropolitan Division earlier this week and are on track to face the lower of the two wild-card seeds, currently the Montreal Canadiens.
The Devils return to the playoffs for the first time since 2023 and just the second time in the past seven seasons. Head coach Sheldon Keefe has guided the team to a 41-30-7 despite a number of injuries to key players, including losing star centre Jack Hughes for the season in February.
Defenceman Dougie Hamilton has been out since March with a lower-body injury, but could be back for the first round as he remains ahead of schedule in his recovery.
"I think there's a chance (he could return for the first round of the playoffs), but it's just a matter of how he continues to progress," Keefe said Tuesday. "He is on the ice, which is a positive sign. There has been no discussion at this point yet of him joining the team, which speaks to the fact he's not where he needs to be. But obviously that's a significant checkpoint for us that's on the horizon."
The Hurricanes are in the playoffs for the seventh straight season and have advanced past the first round in each of the past four years. Carolina reached the Eastern Conference Final in 2023 before being swept by the Florida Panthers.
The Stanley Cup Playoffs are set to begin on April 19.