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The Carolina Hurricanes’ second round opponent has been determined, with the New Jersey Devils advancing past the New York Rangers in Game 7 last night.

Carolina is coming off a six-game first round series win over the New York Islanders. It’ll mark the first time in 14 years the Hurricanes and Devils are meeting in the postseason, with the Hurricanes upsetting the Devils in the first round of the 2009 playoffs.

Given the events of the first round, the Hurricanes now stand as the most recent Stanley Cup champions left in the playoffs, based on their 2006 Stanley Cup win. Adding to that: the Devils are the only other team remaining who has won a Cup in the 2000s, with wins in 2000 and 2003.

We're dancing with the Devils 👊 pic.twitter.com/UoBFIoVTWo

— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) May 2, 2023

The Hurricanes and Devils split their four meetings this season. Notably, the teams met three times over the course of about three weeks through late December and early January. Carolina picked up a 4-1 win despite being badly outshot in the first game, before earning a 5-4 shootout win on New Year’s Day. The Devils did rebound with a 5-3 home win only nine days after that though, and then shut out the Hurricanes in Raleigh during the final meeting of the year in March.

For the Hurricanes, the story is pretty clear. It’s their third season in a row winning a division title, but the team has been eliminated in the second round in each of the last two seasons. The hope is that this is the year they’ll be able to get over the hump and make a deep run.

The Devils, on the other hand, are in the midst of their first playoff appearance in five years, and only their second time in the postseason over the last 11 years. However, New Jersey has turned the corner to emerge as a legitimate threat in the East and this could the first playoff run of many during the Jack Hughes era.

The first game is set for tomorrow night in Raleigh and a full series preview will be out tomorrow afternoon.


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