Devils at Hurricanes
THE STORY: The New Jersey Devils need only one point to wrap up a playoff berth when they visit the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night. The Devils' path to clinching a postseason slot may have been cleared by Winnipeg, which beat the Hurricanes in overtime Friday night to eliminate them from postseason consideration. New Jersey is currently locked into the No. 6 slot in the Eastern Conference and could be staring at a favorable first-round matchup against the Southeast Division winner.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, MSG+, FSCR
ABOUT THE DEVILS (44-28-6): New Jersey broke out of an offensive funk in Thursday’s 6-4 win over Tampa Bay. It matched the Devils’ highest output of the season and was their biggest offensive outburst since Feb. 4. Ilya Kovalchuk had a goal and assist to move within three points of his sixth career 80-point season. Kovalchuk has torched the Hurricanes in his career with 33 goals and 34 assists in 55 games. New Jersey continues to sport the league’s top penalty-killing unit with an 89.6 percent success rate.
ABOUT THE HURRICANES (31-31-16): Carolina had won five of seven games until blowing a two-goal lead in Friday’s home loss to Winnipeg. Captain Eric Staal reached a milestone in the loss, recording his 250th career goal. Staal, who needs one point for his seventh consecutive 70-point season, moved into a tie for second place with Kevin Dineen on the franchise goal-scoring list. Staal hasn’t had much success lifetime against the Devils, with only four goals and nine assists in 13 games.
OVERTIME:
1. The Devils had won five straight meetings until Carolina recorded a 4-2 home win on Dec. 26.
2. Danius Zubrus had a shorthanded tally Thursday, giving New Jersey a league-leading 15. Carolina is second with 11 shorthanded goals.