Game preview: Devils at Canes

Carolina hopes to get its first win of the season against the Devils tonight at Lenovo Center.

The Canes (0-1-0) are on the ice for only the second time this season, while the Devils (4-1-0) have already played five games as visitors. So while the Hurricanes had to cope with their season-opening defeat against the Lightning over the last four days, they are at least entering this competition much fresher than their opponent.

New Jersey, for its part, comes to Raleigh in the second half of a back-to-back after beating Utah 3-0 at home on Monday night. Nico Hischier and Seamus Casey each scored multiple points in the win, but former Hurricane Stefan Noesen led the Devils in the early stages. He leads the team with six points on the young season, which comes from two goals and four assists. Tonight's game marks his return to Raleigh after playing in 177 games over the last three seasons in Carolina, scoring 86 points during that span.

Three seems to be the magic number for the Canes to beat the Devils. New Jersey has scored at least three goals in each of their wins so far this season, but in their only loss they only scored two goals in a 4-2 loss to Toronto.

As for who is responsible for keeping New Jersey under the three-goal threshold, Pyotr Kochetkov was the starting player at Monday's practice. Frederik Andersen started in the first game and had a pretty good performance against Tampa Bay. He allowed just two goals on 21 shots, but the young Kochetkov is more likely to be a 1B to Andersen's 1A in Carolina's goaltending tandem this season.

As for the skaters, Jordan Staal scored the Canes' only goal of the season so far with a goal pretty sweet combination between him, Jordan Martinook and offseason newcomer William Carrier. That line carried the load for a sloppy night on the ice for Carolina. The rest of the ranks will have to catch up for the Hurricanes to win the W against New Jersey.

New Jersey's puck drop at Carolina is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Lenovo Center.