The regular season began on Thursday night as the Carolina Hurricanes opened the 2025-26 season against the New Jersey Devils. Battling for the first time since the Canes eliminated the Devils in the playoffs, there was bound to be some bad blood boiling over from their last encounter in late April.
The Caniacs got their first look at K'Andre Miller after missing the entire preseason, while Nikolaj Ehlers and Alexander Nikishin made their regular season debuts with the team. Frederik Andersen made his fifth straight Opening Night start for the Hurricanes, facing a Devils side that looked way healthier than they did during Game 5. He was opposed by Jacob Markstrom.
The first goal of the new campaign was all about effort. Eric Robinson turned a lost draw into a win, getting the puck back to the point for Alexander Nikishin. He placed it on a tee for Shayne Gostisbehere, whose shot was redirected by Taylor Hall to get the team rolling early. Nikishin notched his first official point. Hall got the first goal. The Canes held an early 1-0 lead.
The offensive production kicked up a little in the middle frame. Former Hurricane Dougie Hamilton got the Devils even, but K'Andre Miller scored his first as a Hurricane 68 seconds later to put the Canes back ahead by a goal. The Devils evened things up a second time on a 2-on-1 snipe by Cody Glass, giving us a brand new ballgame heading into the third.
Miller continued his great debut by adding the first PPG of the season to restore the lead midway through the final frame, only for Jesper Bratt to respond just over a minute later. It was going to take something great to win the game, and Seth Jarvis was the man to do it, finishing Sebastian Aho's pass with 2:43 left. Jarvis scored an empty-netter, and Robinson added one more to finish a 6-3 win.
The new guys were phenomenal in their first real games
Before the game began, we knew the headlines would be about how well Nikolaj Ehlers and K'Andre Miller fit into the Canes' lineup. After 60 minutes, I'd say they'll be just fine. Ehlers didn't find the scoresheet tonight, but it felt like he knew exactly where Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis would be at all times, as if they had played together for years.
The real story of the night was Miller, who briefly took the team lead in goals with a multi-goal effort. In five seasons with New York, Miller scored two goals in a game twice. He's already done it once as a Hurricane. Neither goal made Jacob Markstrom look great, but they don't ask how. He was also good defensively, making some great stick plays with his reach and earning praise from the bench boss.
"I thought he was exceptional. Take the goals away, even, he was impactful. He hadn't played a game for how many months? He stepped right in and looked like he hadn't missed a beat. Obviously, we're pretty excited to have him."
— Walt Ruff (@WaltRuff) October 10, 2025
Rod Brind'Amour on K'Andre Miller's debut. https://t.co/Dz00yA4nad
The Canes have plenty of iron in their diet
It speaks to how well the Hurricanes were playing that they still scored six goals despite hitting the post SEVEN times on Thursday night. It's especially true for Jarvis, who struck iron twice before finding the back of the net twice in the final three minutes of regulation. Aho, Jaccob Slavin, and Taylor Hall added to the fun with shots off the metal behind Markstrom.
The ESPN broadcast made it a point to show that the Hurricanes hit the iron the second-most times of any team in the NHL last season. They're well on their way to breaking last year's pace. Despite this, they kept charging forward, scoring at least once in all three periods, culminating in three goals in the final 2:43 of regulation.
Carolina's depth will remain its strength
As it does every year, it's going to take the entire roster to steer the boat, and the whole group certainly did that on Opening Night. 10 of the team's 18 skaters found the scoresheet tonight, including five multi-point contributors. Miller and Jarvis had two goals each, Taylor Hall had a goal and an assist, and Aho and Shayne Gostisbehere had two helpers each.
Better yet, three of the four lines were on the ice for at least one goal. The fourth line deserves a lot of praise. They got the party started in the first with Eric Robinson's hard work, which led to Taylor Hall's goal. He was rewarded to bookend the night, finishing a pass from Hall during garbage time to secure a three-goal win.
Additional Thoughts
The only line that didn't do much for the Canes tonight was the Stankoven line. Andrei Svechnikov had a tough game, turning the puck over on New Jersey's second goal. Jackson Blake still finished with a team-high five shots and picked up a power-play helper, and Logan Stankoven finished a hair under 50% in the dot. It's probably just some growing pains, so I'm not too concerned.
Lost in the commotion of a nine-goal game was Frederik Andersen. He wasn't overly taxed in the first or third periods, but he did some great work in the second period to hold the Devils to one goal on 11 shots. He finished the night with 19 saves. With Pyotr Kochetkov unavailable short-term, he'll be relied upon a little more. While by no means an extraordinary start, it got the job done.
Up Next: The Carolina Hurricanes will stay on home ice for another one, hosting the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday night at the Lenovo Center. It'll be their final home game for over two weeks with the NC State Fair rolling into town. They'll head west for six straight on the road, beginning with a week-long tour of California next Tuesday.