By AIDAN JENSEN
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For the second consecutive game in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Carolina Hurricanes faced an early, one-goal deficit against the New Jersey Devils.
Also for the second consecutive game, the Canes came-from-behind to win.
The stakes meant a little more this time.
Jesper Fast played overtime hero, deflecting Jesperi Kotkaniemi’s wrister into the net just seven minutes in, sending Carolina to the Eastern Conference Finals with a 3-2 victory.
The Canes (4-1) will be playing in the ECF for the second time in five seasons, as they last met the Boston Bruins there in 2019.
Carolina entered the second period down 1-0 – New Jersey (1-4) opened the scoring in the first when Dawson Mercer converted on a beautiful one-timer from Timo Meier.
The Canes skated into the Devils’ zone, with Jepseri Kotkaniemi backhanding a pass around the boards. Jordan Martinook found the puck at his stick and passed it to Slavin at the blue line, who then wristed a dribbling puck between New Jersey goalie Akira Schmid’s pads, to tie the game at one just 50 seconds into the second period.
Meier added a goal of his own seven minutes later, also between the pads.
New Jersey won a faceoff on a power play opportunity, then Devils star Jack Hughes passed the puck back to former Cane Dougie Hamilton. Hughes took another pass from Hamilton, slid the puck back to Hamilton, who then launched a shot on net.
Canes goalie Frederik Andersen gave up a juicy rebound and Meier was waiting. He pushed a shot through Andersen’s pads and New Jersey was back on top, 2-1.
As they’ve done so many times this season, Carolina rallied to tie the game – again – and show the hockey world why they are a serious Stanley Cup contender.
With under a minute to go in the second period, Brent Burns collected a puck on his stick off a failed Devils clear. Burns rocketed a wrist shot from the top of the circle and celebrated moments later, as the puck went under Schmid’s right arm.
Neither team had much to celebrate in the third period, with Andersen and Schmid playing solid in net and keeping the game tied at two.
It was the boys from Raleigh, though, who celebrated in the extra time period.
Fast rushed the boards in celebration after his game-winner, with teammates skating off the bench to mob him. The Caniacs waved their rally towels and screamed loud, sharing high-fives and hugs. Canes players led the crowd in one of hockey’s newest postgame traditions, the Storm Surge, as players and fans basked in the glory of finding themselves one more opponent away from the Stanley Cup Finals.
That opponent will be the Florida Panthers, who won an 3-2, overtime game of their own Friday night to dispatch the Toronto Maple Leafs in five games.
Florida’s no slouch – they have five players with six postseason goals, plus Matthew Tkachuk, who has 11 assists. The Panthers also have a stud goalie hockey fans might have heard of – Sergei Bobrovsky – the two time Vezina Trophy (best goalie in hockey) winner who boasts a 7-2 record, 2.82 goals against average and .918 save percentage in the playoffs.
Two hockey teams from the Southeast are playing each other with a trip to the Stanley Cup Finals on the line.
Who would’ve thought?
