NEWARK, N.J. — The Hurricanes stole their first-round playoff series from the Devils with one of the greatest last-minute comebacks in NHL history.
Jussi Jokinen and Eric Staal scored in a 48-second span late in the third period as the Hurricanes stunned the Devils 4-3 in Game 7 of their Eastern Conference series Tuesday night.
“This is as sweet as it comes,” said goaltender Cam Ward, who kept the Hurricanes in the game in the final 25 minutes with at least a half-dozen outstanding saves with his team trailing 3-2. “What a finish. It’s hard to believe right now just because we were down 3-2 with only two minutes to go. How quickly things can change. That’s why you never give up.”
It was the second shocking loss for the Devils in the series.
They lost Game 4 on a goal by Jokinen with 0.2 seconds to play. This time they gave away the series in the final 1:20.
“They scored two goals in the final two minutes of a hockey game to win it,” Devils center John Madden said. “I will never forget it.”
Jokinen tied it after taking a great cross-ice setup by Joni Pitkanen. Staal then buried the Devils with a shot from the middle of the right circle after a rush up the ice with 31.7 seconds to play.
“It was pretty quiet when Jussi scored,” Staal said. “We were on the bench and we were obviously the only ones cheering and pretty excited.”
Tuomo Ruutu and Ray Whitney also scored for Carolina and Ward was magnificent, making 32 saves.
