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 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.
Jaccob Slavin and Brent Burns also scored for Carolina, and Frederik Andersen made 27 saves.
JESPER FAST SERIES WINNER IN OT 🚨 <a href=”https://t.co/pdi3Mkx1tq”>pic.twitter.com/pdi3Mkx1tq</a>
—@Canes
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 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.