Hurricanes show resolve in digging out of early hole to win Game 5, advance

RALEIGH, N.C. -- The Carolina Hurricanes have the playbook on digging in when it matters most.

They did it again Tuesday, overcoming a three-goal deficit and a stellar effort from an opposing goalie, to advance to the Eastern Conference Second Round for the fifth straight season with a 5-4 win in double overtime against the New Jersey Devils in Game 5 at Lenovo Center.

Carolina won the best-of-7 first-round series 4-1.

Sebastian Aho was the hero, scoring a power-play goal at 4:17 of the second extra period on a one-timer from the right face-off circle.

Aho's goal ended an offensive barrage by the Hurricanes against goalie Jacob Markstrom over the final three periods, including both overtimes, when they outshot the Devils 34-12.

"We were playing the right way," Carolina defenseman Jaccob Slavin said. "We were on top of them, we were hemming them in their own zone. We were getting the opportunities. Eventually, it paid off. It was fun. It got the crowd into it."

The Hurricanes became the fourth franchise in NHL history to win a playoff series in seven consecutive postseasons, joining the Montreal Canadiens (10 from 1984-93; 1951-60), Philadelphia Flyers (nine, 1973-81) and New York Islanders (seven, 1979-85).

They also improved to 5-0 all-time in closeout games against the Devils.

Still, it didn't look promising at first.

The Devils were without three injured defensemen in Luke Hughes (undisclosed), Brenden Dillon (undisclosed) and Johnathan Kovacevic (undisclosed) and injured center Jack Hughes (shoulder), but they scored three times in the opening 10 minutes of the first period to grab the early lead.

"In the first period, it wasn't our game," Hurricanes forward Andrei Svechnikov said. "In the first intermission, we said let's be calm, let's play our game. We came out hard and scored three goals right away, which was nice, and continued to play our game."

Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour was just hoping for a spark.

"I was looking for anything," he said. "I didn’t even talk about the power play. We had to just reset. Trash that [first] period. Let's try to get back in the game. That was kind of the message, let's see what can happen. Let's see if we can close the gap, give us a chance. The guys did."

Taylor Hall ignited the comeback when he pushed the puck over the goal line at 1:46 of the second period. Rookie forward Jackson Blake made it 3-2 at 4:01, and Svechnikov tied it 3-3 at 5:40.

Devils captain Nico Hischier gave his team a 4-3 lead at 7:26 of the second before Aho scored his first of the game on a 5-on-3 power play with a one-timer from the bottom of the right circle at 11:27.

"There was a lot of hockey to be played," Slavin said. "We were down but there was 50 minutes to go still. So you're just trying to put your next step forward and dig in. Just take it one shift at a time and win your small battles. We came out for the second, and obviously we were buzzing there."

The Hurricanes dominated special teams in this series, finishing 6-for-19 on the power play (31.6 percent) and 15-for-15 on the penalty kill.

"Special teams hurt us, 100 percent," Hischier said. "That was definitely a big part why we lost the series. We couldn't get the power play going and that's on us, including me, that are on the ice. That was definitely frustrating."

New Jersey went 0-for-3 with six shots on goal on the man-advantage on Tuesday, though Stefan Noesen did score on a deflection in the slot just three seconds after a Carolina penalty expired for a 3-0 lead at 9:55 of the first period.

“We talked a little bit in the room that we needed a re-start in a way [in the second period]," Aho said. "Big goal by [Hall] there, get some momentum. The crowd really picked up and kind of took over the game after that."

Carolina won its fifth straight playoff series against New Jersey dating to the 2002 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, becoming the sixth franchise in the NHL’s expansion era (1967-68) with five consecutive series wins against one opponent.

Since 2018-19, the Hurricanes have twice advanced to the Eastern Conference Final, losing to the Boston Bruins in four games in 2019 and to the Florida Panthers in four games in 2023.

"I have a lot of brothers on that team," said defenseman Brett Pesce, who played his first nine NHL seasons with the Hurricanes before signing a six-year contract with the Devils on July 1. "That's a super close team, lifelong friends. It was all business during the series, and we didn't say a word to each other ... the way it should be, right? You're just competing as hard as you can to try to win.

"I wished them good luck and hopefully they can get over the hump."