Despite the Devils’ inconsistency for the last three months, a playoff berth is all but sewn up now with the magic number at two, where it’ll probably remain with the Devils behind 3-0 in what sounds like a flat effort against the Bruins three days after thumping the rival Rangers all but out of the postseason chase themselves in a 4-0 win where the score was far more dominant than the performance – but by the same token, the Devils never really looked threatened themselves apart from a few minutes early in the second period when the Rangers were on the front foot. Still, if anything shows the inconsistency of the 2025 Devils it’s comparing that result to tonight’s flat performance with a potential playoff clincher in the offing.

At least Saturday was an electric home atmosphere a la the Columbus game a few weeks back, and because of the Devils largely getting themselves off the griddle Saturday was one of the few games I’ve legitimately looked foward to in the last few months. Of course, now barring an unprecedented meltdown on either end of the spectrum we’ll be getting ready for Devils-Hurricanes part VI – a saga that has mostly negative vibes for Devils fans. Because I want to get this over with well before the actual playoffs, might as well go down the rabbit hole now of our playoff history where we’ve somehow met Carolina more than any team other than the Rangers in the postseason. Let’s just face the demons head on and go down memory lane before we go forward with either an exorcism, or just more of the same.

Of course, the first matchup came in 2001 – the only one the Devils won. But even that series was tinged with a warning for what was to come as the upstart Hurricanes came back from 3-0 down to win two games against the most talented team in Devils history…sorry 2022-23 version, you may have the wins record but you still can’t hold a candle to the collection of talent on that team. For the first three games of the playoffs, the Devils played like the defending champs and 111-point team they were, outscoring Carolina 11-1 with the most memorable moments coming from a pair of Scott Stevens hits on Ron Francis and Shane Willis (hits #4 and #6 on this list, respectively).

In many ways though, those hits were a villain origin story for the Canes and their fans developing a generational hatred for the Devils, and while they did circle the wagons in that series winning two tight games to annoy us, our talent eventually won out with another romp in Game #6. Next year was another story though, with the Devils struggling into the playoffs with a sub-100 point season, but still favored over the Canes (despite their having home-ice advantage thanks to winning the Southleast division). Carolina won a couple of tight 2-1 decisions in Raleigh before the Devils romped in two games at the Meadowlands, prompting a goaltender change from Arturs Irbe to the now-ubiquitous Kevin Weekes, who’d already had a bit of a journeyman career with the Hurricanes being his fourth NHL team to that point.

That series made sure Devils fans remembered his name forever though, as Carolina won a third straight one-goal game at home, then sealed the series with yet another one-goal win, a drab 1-0 shutout at the Meadowlands, best remembered as the game where Petr Sykora sealed his ticket out of New Jersey by not trying to play with a foot injury. I’m guessing that was more of a last straw type of deal than an actual reason for trading him for Lou Lamoriello since the vaunted A-line had already been broken up that season with the earlier trade of Jason Arnott to Dallas, and Sykora’s numbers were down that year as well.

Carolina had their revenge, but it wasn’t until 2006 where the rivalry started to take on mythic proportions. This time they were favored, but not by much considering the Devils had won fifteen straight games heading into their second-round series with the top seeded Hurricanes, including blitzing the rival Rangers with a four-game destruction in the first round. Of course, the Canes put a quick and painful end to our white-hot streak, beating us down 6-0 in Game 1…but it was Game 2 that hurt far more. With a tight 1-1 game seemingly headed to overtime, Scott Gomez scored to give the Devils the lead with just over twenty seconds remaining to seemingly stun the Hurricanes and even the series going back to New Jersey – right?!

Not exactly…for the first time (but surely not the last) in this saga, Eric Staal broke Devil hearts all over the east coast with a late third-period goal to restore the tie in a ridiculous finish.

Niclas Wallin’s OT winner seemed more of a formality than anything else after that, and Carolina eventually disposed of us in a quiet five games. Then of course came 2009…the gold standard for not only Devils-Canes playoff heartbreak, but perhaps the worst series loss in the entire Devils franchise history. After all, 1994 against the Rangers may have lasted a lifetime for Ranger fans waiting for their only Stanley Cup since 1940 but it was a legitimately great series against the best team in the NHL when we were just entering the upper echelon of the league, where we’d stay for the better part of two decades. If there was any need for redemption, the Devils got that in 1995. Of course we’ve blown other series as an even higher seed before – 1997 against the Rangers losing on yet another OT wraparound was infuriating, 1998 against the upstart Senators was bad, and 1999 against the bankrupt Penguins with Jaromir Jagr beating us on one leg was annoying as were the other series with the Canes, but no playoff loss – at least in my Devils fandom – compares to 2009.

What makes that ending so gut-wrenching is in part due to the fact that 2008-09 was a dream season in a lot of ways for Devils fans – highlighted by the Cinderella rise of career minor leaguer Scott Clemmensen to step in the breach for the great Martin Brodeur when he missed four months due to injury and win twenty-five games, being the only goaltender other than Marty to lead the team in wins for two decades. Brodeur of course came back late in the season, and did so with a vengeance charging to the all-time goaltender wins record, eventually setting it on a magical St. Patty’s Day where our Patty – Elias, also set the franchise record for career points. Although we’ve had other more dominant regular seasons, 2008-09 went into the annals as one of the most unexpectedly fun ones as a fan.

Then the old nemesis came to town for another playoff series (in the first round this time). After a dominant Game 1 win, the Devils suffered a flat tire with yet another OT loss to Carolina in Game 2. However, this time the Devils showed some resiliency other Devil teams hadn’t had – returning the favor in Raleigh with Travis Zajac’s OT goal in Game 3 giving the Devils back the series lead, and their first playoff win in Raleigh since Game 6 in 2001. Predictably with the Canes a more desperate team in Game 4, the Devils came out flat and trailed 3-0 in the third period until again stunning the home crowd with three goals. Once again, a Devils comeback had seemingly sent a stunned Canes crowd into OT – key word being seemingly. Once again, last-second (or really, last millisecond) heroics from Jussi Jokinen saved the Canes and incensed Brodeur.

For how the series ended a week later, Game 4 gets overlooked by comparison but if the Devils had ever gotten that game to OT with the momentum, perhaps they steal another one there and actually kill off Lazarus once and for all. While we let them off the hook in Raleigh, Brodeur channeled his endgame indignance over Jokinen’s pre-goal contact outside the crease into a legendary Game 5 performance, a 40+ save shutout with the only goal coming from David Clarkson as the Devils won and took their third lead in the series. Of course, Carolina came back to tie the series for a third time with the only forgettable game of the series, a 4-0 curbstomping…which is really what Game 4 should have been if not for the fluke late rally against the run of play, setting up the first Lucy pulling the football away from Charlie Brown moment of the series.

Still, it was a one-game series now, this time in New Jersey where the Raleigh ghosts weren’t going to travel with the team…or did they? In a back-and-forth game, the Devils eventually nudged ahead 3-2 in the middle of the second period and stayed there through the rest of the middle frame and for most of a tense final twenty minutes of regulation. Then came a ghastly final eighty seconds of the third period, seared in every Devils fan’s memory forever – particularly those in attendance like yours truly.

And it was ghosts of playoff failures past again coming back to haunt us with none other than Jokinen scoring the tying goal after a desperate diving play by Tim Gleason saved a clearance with the empty net looming. Of course, it was the future HOF’er Staal who wound up with the winner when the Devils again lost their focus late in a game and Staal found a sweet spot through Marty’s arm with just thirty seconds left, completing a truly stunning turnaround. Less than one minute of gametime in between one team being an empty-netter or eighty seconds from winning the series…to losing the series. It wasn’t even an OT heartbreak this time, though Brian Gionta shockingly almost scored to revive a corpse and draw out the tension even longer. Of course it wasn’t to be, and the Devils suffered yet another devastating loss to the Hurricanes with coach Brent Sutter – who arguably lost the series with regressive line matching – cowardly running home the first chance he got after just two years behind the bench in New Jersey.

Thankfully it was another fourteen years before we again met the Canes in the playoffs, of course mostly due to the fact that both our teams really didn’t make the playoffs much in the 2010’s. In what was a quasi-rerun of 2006 the Devils would roll into the playoffs on the back of a franchise record winning season, and then win an emotional come from behind battle against the Rangers in the first round, seemingly growing up in a hurry before a more experienced and battle-hardened Carolina team throttled us rather easily in five games, with three of the wins (and also our lone win) being in blowouts. Only Game 5’s OT loss was close, but the series was all but decided by then anyway with it being obvious who the better team was.

Maybe I’ll do a proper preview of this year’s playoff closer to the series, but I will say there haven’t been many times where they’ve been THE clear favorite. We were clear favorites in the first two series and in 2009 as well. 2006 and 2023 you could justly say they were slight favorites but given our injury issues and their better record, they’re going to be far more of an experts’ pick this time around. Even if the rumors are true about a possible Dougie Hamilton return for the postseason, there’ll be more pressure on them to win, especially after being a playoff team for longer without any real success yet. Of course being in that building isn’t ideal but maybe it’s better for the start of the series at least to have the pressure on them to get off to a good start.

As far as the present day, of course the Devils wound up losing to the Bruins 7-2, so no playoff clincher today. Maybe Friday when I actually am in attendance again, oh well. Just do it, and we can fully worry about the Hurricane ghosts at that point.