Hurricanes oust Devils, reach East final

RALEIGH, N.C. — Jesper Fast deflected in a shot by Jesperi Kotkaniemi on a power play 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 deflection 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 best-of-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. It also came on the power play after New Jersey’s Jonas Siegenthaler was sent to the box for a delay-of-game penalty for sending a puck out of play from his own zone.

“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 Conference 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 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.

New Jersey finished one point behind the Hurricanes in the Metropolitan Division for the league’s third-best point total (112) and the franchise’s first playoff appearance in five years, then pushed past the rival New York Rangers in seven games despite falling behind 0-2 for its first playoff series win since 2012.

“We knew we had to play better and I think the whole team bought in,” Devils captain Nico Hischier said. “The effort was there and we had our chances.”