Devil's postseason falls short in agonizing 2OT defeat at hands of Hurricanes
The Hurricane Rides Again:
RALEIGH, N.C. - The Hurricanes were down and out, staring at a three-goal deficit in the first period. Rod Brind'Amour, the team's coach, was simply hoping for something, anything, in the second period.
And boy, did they deliver!
The Hurricanes stormed back, scoring four unanswered goals in a pulsating second period to level the game. The see-saw battle continued into overtime before Sebastian Aho clinched the series with a stunning one-timer, beating Jacob Markstrom at 4:17 of the second overtime.
Aho's goal, set up by Shayne Gostisbehere, came on a four-minute power play after Dawson Mercer was penalized for a double-minor high-sticking penalty. Jesperi Kotkaniemi was forced to depart the game, sporting a towel to his right eye.
"Unreal," Aho exclaimed, "Almost like blacking out for a second there. The crowd goes nuts, guys are jumping on you, it's unreal. Yeah, really good feeling."
The Hurricanes become the first team to advance to the second round with this victory. They will face the winner of the Montreal-Washington series. The Capitals currently lead 3-1 in that series.
The Hurricanes are History’s fourth team to win a series in seven straight postseasons, emulating the Montreal Canadiens' run from 1984-1993.
The Devils started the game strong, taking a 3-0 lead in the opening ten minutes. But the game turned on its head as the Hurricanes responded with a fierce comeback. Things settled down in the third period and extra periods, culminating in Aho's game-winning power-play goal.
Aho also scored the tying goal with 8:33 left in the second period, while on a two-man advantage. Taylor Hall, Jackson Blake, and Andrei Svechnikov also found the back of the net for the Hurricanes, who are one of four teams to participate in the playoffs for at least seven straight years.
"I'm proud of the group for digging in," said Brind'Amour. "It could've been easy to go, 'Well, it's 3-nothing, we've got two more games we could play (to advance). But they didn't."
"That's just not the way we are," said the 21-year-old Blake, who scored his first career playoff goal. "I think it's really cool the way we won tonight, so it was awesome."
The Hurricanes have eliminated the Devils in a five-game series on two occasions, with both matches ending in a sudden-death goal in Raleigh. The latest occurred in the 2023 second round.
The Hurricanes claimed the first two games at home, while the Devils snatched victory in two overtimes in Game 3. But the Hurricanes put the Devils on the brink with their Game 4 win after taking a 3-0 lead and losing starting goalie Frederik Andersen to an injury.
The injury-stricken Devils gave Carolina a run for their money in Games 2 and 5 at home, but ultimately fell short.
"We played two pretty good road games in Games 2 and 5 here, so to not get one is tough," coach Sheldon Keefe lamented. "But I thought our guys gave everything they had. We were on fumes in overtime. But our guys just kept fighting, hanging on, Marky's battling."
Markstrom, the Devils' goalie, was a one-man survival raft in the first overtime, blocking shot after shot as the Hurricanes pushed for victory. Carolina outshot the Devils 34-12 after the second period, putting Markstrom under constant pressure. Pyotr Kochetkov, Carolina's goalie, made 31 saves in his first start of the postseason.
The Carolina Hurricanes' playoff history is marked by both franchise records and recent achievements, with an all-time record of 100-105-0-0, one championship victory, and four Finals appearances. Their current streak of seven consecutive postseason series wins is an impressive testament to their resilience, having advanced to the Eastern Conference Second Round for five consecutive seasons since 2019.
- Rod Brind'Amour, the Hurricanes' coach, found hope in a dreary situation with a three-goal deficit, praying for something in the second period.
- Sebastian Aho's game-winning power-play goal clinched the series and levels the Hurricanes as the fourth team to win a series in seven straight postseasons, following the Montreal Canadiens' run from 1984-1993.
- Andrei Svechnikov, Taylor Hall, Jackson Blake, and Jesperi Kotkaniemi were the goal scorers for the Hurricanes, with Blake netting his first career playoff goal in a pulsating battle against the Devils.
- In the 2023 second round, the Hurricanes eliminated the Devils in a five-game series, with both previous matches ending in a sudden-death goal in Raleigh.
