Hurricanes win Game 5 in OT, eliminate Devils in East 2nd Round

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Jesper Fast scored at 7:09 of overtime, and the Carolina Hurricanes advanced to the Eastern Conference Final for the first time since 2019 with a 3-2 win against the New Jersey Devils in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Second Round at PNC Arena on Thursday.

Fast won it on a power play when Jesperi Kotkaniemi's shot from the right circle deflected in off him in front.

"I felt it and I looked back and it was in the net, so just a lot of happy emotions," Fast said. "I had a weird feeling going into overtime. I missed two kind of good opportunities, so I [felt] like the next one would go in. Just happy I get a little touch on that one."

Jaccob Slavin and Brent Burns also scored, and Frederik Andersen made 27 saves for the Hurricanes, who are the No. 1 seed from the Metropolitan Division.

Carolina will play either the Toronto Maple Leafs or Florida Panthers in the conference final. Florida leads that series 3-1 heading into Game 5 in Toronto on Friday.

"I'm just really proud of the group," Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "I'm just an old guy sitting behind the bench, just watching this and enjoying how hard everyone is working and [playing] together. It's a great group."

RELATED: [Complete Hurricanes vs. Devils series coverage]

Carolina has made this postseason run without forwards Andrei Svechnikov (right knee surgery) and Max Pacioretty (torn Achilles). It has also been without forward Teuvo Teravainen since Game 2 of the first round (fractured left hand).

"It's been pretty special to see different guys come in at different times and just compete and fit in great," Burns said. "Five [men] together and we just keep rolling. It's been that so far, and it's going to have to continue."

Timo Meier had a goal and an assist, Dawson Mercer scored, and Akira Schmid made 36 saves for the Devils, who were the No. 2 seed from the Metropolitan.

"[We] got a real good taste of what playoff hockey is like, the ups and downs," New Jersey coach Lindy Ruff said. "Losing the first couple games in both series hurt us. You know you'd like to take that as a lesson going forward."

The Devils also lost Games 1 and 2 to the New York Rangers in the first round, each by a 5-1 score, before winning that series in seven games.

"I think we let a couple of the games slip away from us, and we did the same thing in the Rangers series but found a way to battle back," said forward Jack Hughes, who played through an upper-body injury he sustained in Game 4. "We got away from our game in certain periods (against Carolina), and it just slipped away from us and next thing you knew we dug ourselves a hole. So, we had a couple good efforts in this series, but just not good enough."

Mercer gave the Devils a 1-0 lead at 15:06 of the first period, driving to the right post on a rush and redirecting in a diagonal cross-ice pass from Meier.

Slavin scored 50 seconds into the second period to tie it 1-1 when his wrist shot from the blue line deflected off New Jersey forward Erik Haula and five-hole on Schmid.

"There can be ebbs and flows within a game, but we stuck to our game the whole time, getting pucks in deep, working on getting pucks to the net," Slavin said. "We just stayed on it, stayed on it, stayed on it and got the win in the end."

Meier put the Devils back in front 2-1 at 7:15, jamming in a rebound eight seconds into a power play after Andersen stopped Dougie Hamilton's shot from the point.

Burns tied it 2-2 with 38 seconds left in the second on a wrist shot through traffic that found its way under the right arm of Schmid.

Andersen made his best save of the game at 9:11 of the third period to keep the game tied, stopping Ondrej Palat from all alone in the low slot before steering the rebound wide. He is 5-0 with a 1.80 goals-against average and .931 save percentage in six playoff starts.

"I'm just having fun playing, that's the biggest takeaway for me," Andersen said. "I've waited for a few years to get this opportunity, and I'm making the best of it and enjoying it."

NOTES:It was Fast's second overtime goal of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He scored the game-winner in a 4-3 win against the New York Islanders in Game 2 of the first round. ... Carolina is the 12th team in NHL history to have each of its first two series-clinching wins come in overtime. Paul Stastny scored the winner against the Islanders in Game 6. … New Jersey was outscored 35-9 in its seven playoff losses. … The Hurricanes have reached the Eastern Conference Final five times (2002, 2006, 2009 and 2019). They won the Stanley Cup in 2006. … Carolina forward Jordan Martinook had an assist to extend his point streak to five games (three goals, seven assists). He had 10 points in the series, tying Bates Battaglia (2002 Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Montreal Canadiens) and Cory Stillman (2006 Eastern Conference Final against the Buffalo Sabres) for the most in a single series in Hurricanes/Hartford Whalers history.