Carolina advanced by eliminating the New York Islanders with a 2-1 overtime win in Game 6 of the first round at UBS Arena in Elmont, New York, on Friday. New Jersey eliminated the New York Rangers with a 4-0 win in Game 7 at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on Monday.
The Hurricanes, who are the No. 1 seed from the Metropolitan Division, will have home-ice advantage against the Devils, who are the No. 2 seed from the Metropolitan.
"Doesn't matter who we play," Hurricanes forward Jordan Martinook said. "We've got to do what we did in the third [period Friday], and that will be our recipe right there."
Sebastian Aho (four goals, three assists) led the Hurricanes with seven points in the first round against the Islanders. Brent Burns had five assists, Stefan Noesen and Seth Jarvis each had two goals and two assists, Paul Stastny scored three goals and Antti Raanta went 3-2 with a 2.59 goals-against average and .906 save percentage. Frederik Andersen made 33 saves for Carolina in Game 6.
"It really doesn't matter at the end of the day; what happened [is] in the past," Aho said. "We just try to take it a day at a time, and that's been the whole key for our team all year and I think we've done a pretty good job just living with that."
Carolina went 2-2-0 against New Jersey this season. Aho had four points (two goals, two assists) in three games against the Devils, and Jesperi Kotkaniemi (two goals, one assist) and Noesen (one goal, two assists) each had three points in four games.
Raanta started one game against New Jersey, making 24 saves in a 5-4 shootout win Jan. 1. Kochetkov was 1-2-0 with a 2.68 GAA and .904 save percentage.
Jesper Bratt led the Devils with six points (four goals, two assists) against Carolina this season. Jack Hughes had five points (three goals, two assists), and Dawson Mercer and Nico Hischier each scored two goals.
"We know Carolina is a really good team," Hughes said. "We had a lot of good games with them during the season. ... We're a confident team now. We got one (series). We got those young legs, we got to keep playing, keep skating and playing our game."
Akira Schmid, who started the final five games of the series against the Rangers, did not play against the Hurricanes this season. Vitek Vanecek went 2-1-0 with a 2.25 GAA, .918 save percentage and one shutout, and Mackenzie Blackwood was 0-0-1 with a 3.53 GAA and .907 save percentage in two games (one start).
Carolina and New Jersey have met four times in the postseason. The Devils won the first series in six games in the 2001 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, but the Hurricanes have won the past three. Their most recent series came in the 2009 Conference Quarterfinals, which Carolina won in seven games.
"Tough opponent," Devils forward Ondrej Palat said. "Great, great offensive team, so it's going to be another tough series, but we need to use our experience, what we just gained, in the second round."
NHL.com staff writer Tom Gulitti contributed to this report
