THE SCOOP
The Devils have taken advantage of their four days off from gameplay with a couple of off days and two hard-working practices. The team is back home after a 2-1-0 trip to Florida, where they twice beat the defending Stanley Cup Champions, the Florida Panthers.
Joining into the fold as they resume their schedule are Nolan Foote and Shane Bowers, both were recalled at the beginning of the week, while Justin Dowling and Nick DeSimone also remain with the club. The additions to the roster will give Sheldon Keefe and his staff the ability to change up their lineup as they see fit, having not had any extra forwards on their recent trip South. At practice on Wednesday Bowers skated alongside Dowling and Tomas Tatar, while Kurtis MacDermid, who had been in that left-wing spot, skated on an extra defensive pairing with DeSimone.
This will be the first time Brett Pesce, who spent the first 10 years of his career in Carolina, will face off against his former club. Pesce had not yet made his season debut the last time the two clubs met, in Carolina, in mid-October.
Jacob Markstrom is sitting on career game 499 and could see the net on Thursday, marking a major milestone in the Swedish netminder's career.
The Hurricanes sit two points ahead of the Devils after their Wednesday night victory in Philadelphia. Carolina scored three goals in five minutes in the third period to break a 1-1 tie and take a 4-1 lead. Perhaps surprisingly, Martin Necas did not register a point, which ended a run of 13 straight games where the Canes forward found his name on the scoresheet. Necas was on the verge of tying the Canes' longest-point streak in franchise history but missed the mark by one game. Now-Devil, former Cane Dougie Hamilton is tied for the longest streak at 14 games with Sebastian Aho.
WHO’S HOT
Devils: The Devils have been spreading the wealth lately. Nico Hischier earned his third three-point game (0g-3a) of the season on Nov. 14 vs Florida and owns four assists in the team’s last three games. Jack Hughes has seven points in the past five games (3g-4a), while Jesper Bratt is the owner of the Devils most recent hat trick, scored in Florida against the Panthers on Nov. 14.
Hurricanes: It's all about Martin Necas for the Carolina Hurricanes. He leads their team in every statistical scoring category with 11 goals, 19 assists, and 30 points. In his past five games, he's picked up nine points, a combination of four goals and five assists.
INJURIES
Devils: Bastian (jaw, IR), Lazar (knee, IR), Hatakka (shoulder, out indefinitely)
Hurricanes: Jarvis (upper-body, IR), Andersen (lower-body, out), Fast (neck, IR)
REGULAR-SEASON RESULTS
