Carolina Hurricanes center Sebastian Aho (20) celebrates with teammate Shaye Gostisbehere (04) after scoring the game winning goal in double overtime to secure a 5-4 victory and clinch the first round Stanley Cup series over the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday, April 29, 2025 at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, N.C. Robert Willett [email protected]
Raleigh
Among the handmade signs by the ice Tuesday at the Lenovo Center was one that read simply: “Finish them.”
Meaning the New Jersey Devils. Meaning the Carolina Hurricanes finishing off the Devils, winning their Stanley Cup playoff series in five games and moving on.
The Hurricanes did that, but it was anything but simple. The Canes had to rally from a stumbling start and three-goal deficit and go into a second overtime in Game 5 before emerging with a 5-4 victory.
Sebastian Aho’s power-play goal at 4:17 of the second OT ended it, pushing the Hurricanes into the second round against the winner of the Washington Capitals-Montreal Canadiens series.
Carolina Hurricanes center Sebastian Aho (20) celebrates with teammates Shaye Gostisbehere (04) and Seth Jarvis (24) after scoring the game winning goal in double overtime to secure a 5-4 victory and clinch the first round Stanley Cup series over the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday, April 29, 2025 at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, N.C. Robert Willett [email protected]
Early in the second OT, the Devils’ Dawson Mercer was penalized for high-sticking center Jesperi Kotkaniemi, who left the ice bleeding. The double-minor gave Carolina four minutes of power-play time.
The Canes were down to 53 seconds when Aho rook a pass from Shayne Gostisbehere and blasted the winner from the right circle. The Canes star center, who finished with two goals and an assist, skated across the ice in celebration, soon to be mobbed by his teammates.
“It felt unreal. It was almost like a blackout for a second,” Aho said. “The crowd goes nuts and guys are jumping on you. It’s unreal.”
The Canes were 1-11 in playoff games that went to multiple overtimes, losing Game 3 to the Devils in two OTs, before Aho’s winner.
Devils goalie Jacob Markstrom was the biggest reason the Devils had a chance. He was magnificent in the first overtime, gamely turning back shot after shot as the Canes stayed in the New Jersey zone and got off 14 shots on goal.
“He was making unbelievable saves,” Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “That was one of the better goaltending performances I’ve witnessed. He was their best player, for sure.”
The Devils almost won it just before the horn sounded to end the first OT, Jesper Bratt forcing Canes goalie Pyotr Kochetkov into a tough save with a shot from the left wing. Kochetkov dropped his stick but made the stop with the glove on his blocker hand.
The biggest storyline going into the game was the status of Canes goalie Frederik Andersen after his run-in with Devils forward Timo Meier in the crease sent him to the locker room, although the Canes regrouped behind Kochetkov for a 5-2 win.
Meier was booed from the moment he stepped on the ice Tuesday night, and a lot of eyes were on Kochetkov and how he would handle the playoff start with Andersen unavailable.
Carolina Hurricane right wing Andrei Svechnikov (37) tries to score on New Jersey Devils’ goalie Jacob Markstrom (25) in the second period during Game 5 of their Stanely Cup series on Tuesday, April 29, 2025 at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, N.C. Robert Willett [email protected]
The Devils were facing elimination and played it that way. The Canes refused to let the poor start take them out of the game on their home ice.
The first period was all Devils, who took a 3-0 lead.
“We came out swinging,” New Jersey coach Sheldon Keefe said. “We weren’t here to go away quietly. Our team fought, man”
The second period? The Canes answered with a big push — four goals.
After 40 minutes, it was 4-4. After 60 minutes, it was 4-4. Then to overtime, then a second overtime.
The Devils took advantage of some uneasy play by Kochetkov in net and some sloppy defensive play by the Canes in the first period. The Devils’ confidence appeared to build, shift by shift, as they added to their lead – 1-0, then 2-0 and 3-0, all in the first 10 minutes.
Whatever Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour had to say during the first intermission, whether with some fire or disgust, the message was delivered. The Canes’ puck possession was better, their breakouts from the zone better, their intensity level better.
“We just had to re-set and we trashed that period,” Brind’Amour said. “It was ‘Let’s get back in the game.’ That was the message: ’Let’s see if we can close the gap and and get a chance.’ From that point on …”
The Canes went into attack mode. Or as rookie forward Jackson Blake put it, “We came out so fast.”
Taylor Hall scored, poking in the rebound of a Logan Stankoven shot. Make it 3-1, Devils.
Blake scored, taking a pass from Mark Jankowski and circling the net for a shot. Make it 3-2, Devils, who used their timeout to try and blunt Carolina’s momentum.
New Jersey Devils’ goalie Jacob Markstrom (25) deflects a shot by Carolina Hurricanes center Logan Stankoven (22) in the third period during Game 5 of their Stanely Cup series on Tuesday, April 29, 2025 at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, N.C. Robert Willett [email protected]
But when Svechnikov ripped a shot past Markstrom, it was tied at 3-3 and the building was rocking. It was the fifth goal of the series for the power forward, whose hat trick in Game 3 keyed the victory. Svechnikov followed with nine shots Tuesday and carried the Canes back into the game after the stumbling start.
“He was firing pucks,” Brind’Amour said.
Hischier quieted the crowd — for a few minutes at least — by scoring from the slot after a line change for a 4-3 lead, but the Canes kept pushing.
Aho’s first came after the Devils’ Tomas Tatar and then Erik Haula were called for tripping, setting up the Canes with 55 seconds of a two-man advantage.
Aho scored on a sharp angle to Marktrom’s left off a setup pass from Seth Jarvis, although the Devils did kill off the final 1:17 of Haula’s penalty to keep it a 4-4 game.
“That was executed perfectly,” Brind’Amour said of the 5-on-3 goal.
The Canes had the kind of start Brind’Amour hoped to avoid: his team, playing at home, possibly overconfident, falling behind while Kochetkov looked shaky in net.
The Devils were able to quickly get to Kochetkov, scoring the three goals in the first 9:55 of the game. Mercer scored on the deflection of a Brett Pesce shot, and Meier scored from the slot after Pesce forced a turnover in the Carolina zone.
The Devils did not score on their first power play but did just after it expired as Stefan Noesen, the former Canes forward, tipped a puck past Kochetkov.
The Devils had the edge in nearly every category in the first period, outshooting the Canes 13-9, winning 11 of 15 faceoffs and forcing 10 giveaways. But the game tilted in the second period.
“I think it’s really cool how we won tonight,” Blake said, smiling. “I think it’s really awesome.”
Hurricanes hopeful for Andersen return from injury
Andersen left Sunday’s game early in the second period after a collision in net with Devils forward Meier. Kochetkov, making his first appearance in the series, stopped 14 of 15 shots as the Canes took a 5-2 victory for a 3-1 series lead.
“We’re confident with whoever is back in net,” winger Seth Jarvis said Tuesday. “We’re lucky to have two stellar goalies and it’s ‘Koochie’s’ turn. We know he’s made for this and we’re excited to have him in.”
Brind’Amour said Kochetkov might have played Game 5 even if Andersen not been injured.
“He played half the games or more for us this season.,” Brind’Amour said. “We have a lot of faith in him.”
Martin, 29, appeared in nine games with the Hurricanes during the regular season, with a 4-3-1 record.
Devils coach Sheldon Keefe said the switch would not have been a surprise to his team, even if Andersen hadn’t been injured.
“We expected to see both goalies in the series,” Keefe said. “Pre-series, we had talked about both guys and all that. The challenge remains getting to whoever is in the goal.”
Proud papa
For Eric Robinson, the timing was perfect … and awful. The Hurricanes had two days off between games 2 and 3 of this series, which allowed him to not only be present for the birth of his daughter, Blaire Elizabeth, on April 25, but the first-time father also had to leave his wife Alli the next day for New Jersey to take care of those hockey responsibilities.
“The obvious hard part was just leaving, in general,” Robinson said Tuesday ahead of Game 5. “We had her on Wednesday so I got to be there and see it and sleep there Wednesday night with my wife, which was nice. But then practice Thursday and an afternoon flight, that was the hardest part, leaving and missing those first few days. Obviously for a good reason, but coming home Sunday was really exciting.”
The 29-year-old summer free-agent signing had 14 goals in the regular season and was part of a dynamic fourth line in Sunday’s 5-2 win alongside Jankowski and Stankoven. That trio was the Hurricanes’ most effective line in terms of possession at five-on-five — with Robinson maintaining his focus on the ice despite everything else going on in his life.
“Just really cool,” Robinson said. “Holding her and staring at her all day, just kind of smiling. It’s been awesome.”
This story was originally published April 29, 2025 at 12:49 PM.
