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Hurricanes, Caps advance to Eastern semifinals

Source: Agencies | April 30, 2009, Thursday | Print Edition

THE Carolina Hurricanes scored twice in the final 80 seconds to stun the New Jersey Devils 4-3 on Tuesday and advance to the NHL Eastern Conference semifinals with the Game 7 victory.

The win before 17,625 stunned fans in Newark, New Jersey, gave Carolina a 4-3 victory and put it into a best-of-seven series against the top-seeded Boston Bruins.

The second-seeded Washington Capitals, who advanced with a 2-1 Game 7 victory against the New York Rangers on Tuesday, will meet the fourth-ranked Pittsburgh Penguins in the other conference semifinal.

The Devils appeared poised to advance with NHL all-time wins leader Martin Brodeur protecting a 3-2 lead when Jussi Jokinen blasted home the equalizer off a pass from Joni Pitkanen at 1:20.

With 31.7 seconds remaining in regulation, Eric Staal beat Brodeur with another rocket from in close to seal an improbable victory for sixth-seeded Carolina.

"We were battling so hard the whole third period," Jokinen told reporters. "We had some chances, they had some chances. Then Joni had a great pass to me and I had a great shot.

Frantic finish

Jokinen also made the difference in Game 4's frantic finish, when he tipped Dennis Seidenberg's shot with his skate and sent it into the net behind Brodeur with 0.2 seconds left for a 4-3 win for Carolina.

Carolina's Cam Ward stopped 32-of-35 shots, while Brodeur made 27 saves, stifling all four Carolina powerplays.

A blistering slap-shot goal by Brian Rolston at 8:47 of the second period snapped a 2-2 tie and gave the Devils a 3-2 lead they held until the decisive 80 seconds before the horn.

"It's tough to put into words," Brodeur said. "I'm so disappointed right now."

In Washington, thanks to sage old Sergei Fedorov and a huge comeback, the hosts were headed to the second round of the playoffs for the first time in more than a decade.

The 39-year-old Fedorov beat New York goalie Henrik Lundqvist with 4:59 left in the third period for the Capitals to become the 21st team in NHL history to win a series after trailing 1-3. It's also the franchise's first series victory since the 1997-98 season, when Washington made it all the way to the Stanley Cup finals.

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