FAST GOAL ELIMINATES N.J.
Jesper Fast deflected in a shot by Jesperi Kotkaniemi at 7:09 of overtime to give the Carolina Hurricanes a series-ending 3-2 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Thursday night.
Fast’s def lection while shielding Akira Schmid set off a celebration for the Hurricanes, who never led until the final play and twice trailed by a goal before winning the bestof-seven series 4-1 to reach the Eastern Conference final.
In the first tight game of the second-round matchup, Fast made amends for when he popped a puck over the goal in front of an open net in the first period.
“I know that he was shaking his head in the first period,” Carolina defenseman Jaccob Slavin said, “but to get it in the end is awesome for him.”
Slavin and Brent Burns also scored for Carolina, and Frederik Andersen made 27 saves.
Dawson Mercer and Timo Meier scored for New Jersey. Schmid stopped 36 shots.
This marks Carolina’s first trip to the Eastern final since 2019. The Hurricanes will face the winner of the Florida-Toronto series, with the Panthers leading that one 3-1.
The first four games of the series
Hurricanes 3, Devils 2 (OT)
had been filled by lopsided results, with each decided by at least four goals and a starting goaltender chased early. Carolina won the first two games at home by an 11-2 margin, then shook off a Game 3 loss by blowing things open in the second period for a 6-1 road win Tuesday in Game 4.
The Hurricanes had been in this position in Round 1, with a chance to close out the New York Islanders on home ice in Game 5. They lost that one and instead had to clinch the series with an overtime road win in Game 6.
This time, they needed a dramatic finish to avoid a repeat.
The Devils’ exit comes in a season where a young group arrived to postseason contention earlier than expected.
Stars 5, Kraken 2: Roope Hintz had two goals and had an assist, Joe Pavelski scored his seventh goal of the second-round series and host Dallas beat Seattle in Game 5 to move within a victory of the Western Conference finals.
Pavelski also had an assist on Hintz’s second goal, which ricocheted hard out of the net with 8:37 left for a two-goal lead, though play continued for nearly a half-minute before a replay review that confirmed the score. Radek Faksa added an empty-netter with 3:17 to go.
Dallas will take a 3-2 lead into Game 6 on Saturday in Seattle, where the teams split a pair of lopsided games.
Wednesday’s late result
Oilers 4, Golden Knights 1: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had a goal and an assist as host Edmonton evened the second-round playoff series at two games apiece.
Notable
The Golden Knights will be without their best defenseman in Game 5 with their second-round series against the Oilers hanging in the balance. Alex Pietrangelo was suspended for one game Thursday by the NHL Department of Player Safety for his slash on Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl in the final two minutes of the Oilers’ victory.
The Oilers will be without defenseman Darnell Nurse, who received instigator and misconduct penalties for fighting Nic Hague after Pietrangelo’s slash.
Because the instigator penalty occurred in the final minute, it carries an automatic one-game suspension, a decision upheld by the NHL.