By AARON BEARD AP Sports Writer
Share this story

RALEIGH, N.C. — Jesper Fast could only shake his head in disbelief after missing an early open-net putaway, a play that took on growing weight as the Carolina Hurricanes found themselves in an overtime.

“Yeah, it was hard to get over that one,” Fast said.

ADVERTISING

He certainly made amends, pushing the Hurricanes through to the Eastern Conference final and eliminating the New Jersey Devils.

Fast deflected in a shot by Jesperi Kotkaniemi on a power play at 7:09 of overtime, lifting the Hurricanes to a series-ending 3-2 victory 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.

In the first tight game of the second-round matchup, Fast’s winner came 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. It also came with Fast in his second game back on the power-play unit.

“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.

This marks Carolina’s first trip to the Eastern Conference final since 2019, which came during Rod Brind’Amour’s first season as coach. The Hurricanes are now in their fifth straight playoff season, a veteran group that has pushed through two series despite losing multiple scoring forwards.

They’ll next face the winner of the Florida-Toronto series, with the Panthers leading that one 3-1.

“We’re stacking memories here, and they’re giving them to me, too,” said Brind’Amour, the captain on Carolina’s Stanley Cup winner in 2006. “So it’s pretty special.”

Dawson Mercer and Timo Meier scored for New Jersey. Schmid stopped 36 shots after being chased early in the second in Game 1 here and then after the second in Game 2.