Hurricanes return to action vs. Devils after unwanted break

It seems as if the New Jersey Devils are far ahead of the Carolina Hurricanes, and the season has barely started.

That's the backdrop for the teams when they meet Tuesday night in Raleigh, N.C.

The Devils are off to a 4-1-0 start. The Hurricanes are just one game into their schedule.

Carolina's season began with a 4-1 home loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday night.

The Hurricanes were supposed to play their second game of the season Saturday night at Tampa Bay, but that game was postponed after Hurricane Milton caused destruction in the region last week. So that meant more time for the Hurricanes to stew after their opening defeat.

"Usually I'd rather just go play after that kind of outing," Carolina captain Jordan Staal said.

While the Hurricanes have mostly been in a waiting mode, the Devils have been racking up accomplishments. Among the encouraging early developments: Rookie Seamus Casey racking up three goals, including one in New Jersey's 3-0 win over the visiting Utah Hockey Club on Monday.

"I haven't always been a goal-scorer in my life, so to start with three goals is maybe not like super expected," Casey said. "But I'm just trying to play simple and take chances when I get them."

New Jersey's strong start has come without a goal from Jack Hughes, but he is still making an impact. He has three assists and 15 shots on goal.

"Jack is going to fill the net and things are going to happen the more that we play," Devils coach Sheldon Keefe said. "He has had a nice foundation to his game defensively."

The Devils have played three games since returning from an opening two-game set against the Buffalo Sabres in Prague. New Jersey won 5-3 on Saturday at Washington to recover from its first loss of the season before winning again Monday afternoon.

New Jersey forward Stefan Noesen, who played the previous three seasons with the Hurricanes, scored a goal against Utah. Noesen has earned at least one point in four of the Devils' five games, and New Jersey won all four of those contests.

In Carolina's first game, Tampa Bay scored twice on power plays and tallied two empty-net goals.

"We weren't ready as a PK unit," Staal said. "It's a game like that that takes just one mistake. We'll have to get better."

Now, the Hurricanes will attempt to get tuned up against a team that has played a good diet of games.

"It's not ideal," Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "Early in the year is when you want to play. You can make excuses, it is what it is. We'll get in a rhythm at some point. You'd rather get there sooner than later."

Carolina's extra time between games has come with no particular attention on a certain aspect of the game given the mid-October timeframe.

"We have to get better, really in every area," Brind'Amour said.

The Hurricanes figure to go with Pyotr Kochetkov in net Tuesday night after they made their opening-night goalie assignment a game-day announcement, with Frederik Andersen getting the nod.

The Tuesday game will be Carolina's last at home for more than two weeks, a normal October part of the team's schedule because of the North Carolina State Fair that takes place across the street from the arena.