How Hurricanes-Devils Game 5 lived up to expectations of the unexpected — again
Really, given the history, given everything that has transpired over the years between these two frequent April antagonists, this was the only way it could go.
It had to be bananas. It had to be a wild ride. It had to end in controversy. It had to be, yet again, unforgettable in some way.
The Carolina Hurricanes once again eliminated the New Jersey Devils, for the fifth straight time, and they once again found a new and innovative way to do it.
Sebastian Aho’s power-play goal 4:17 into the second overtime clinched a 5-4 win Tuesday and the series in five games, but the long and winding five-period road to get there was yet another chapter in the improbable annals of Hurricanes-Devils playoff history.
Down 3-0 after one dismal period, they pulled back that lead in a matter of six minutes. They utterly dominated the first overtime with nothing to show for it. And then Dawson Mercer chipped at a puck and got the tip of the blade of his stick way up under Jesperi Kotkaniemi’s visor, sending him straight to the room and leaving a trail of blood on the ice, narrowly missing his right eye.
The Hurricanes needed almost all four minutes of the power play to convert, but Aho’s one-timer from the right circle delivered the Hurricanes’ first multi-overtime win since Game 7 against the Washington Capitals in 2019 — they’re now 2-11 since moving to North Carolina — and their first overtime win, period, in seven playoff games since closing out the Devils in 2023.
“It is what it is,” Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin said. “You play the game hard and it’s always tough to lose in overtime, but yeah, it’s a great feeling to win.”
It was everything we’ve come to expect from the Hurricanes and Devils, who continue to refuse to do things in a normal way. From the franchise-changing 2001 series to the nine-goals-in-six-games win over the Devils in 2002 to Martin Brodeur unraveling in 2006 to the Shock at the Rock in 2009, no lead is ever safe, no possibility is impossible.
The names and faces change — at least other than Brodeur and Rod Brind’Amour, present and personally invested in some form or fashion for all six — but this series was very much in character, with Simon Nemec’s double-overtime winner for the Devils in Game 3, Timo Meier’s shove on Frederik Andersen in Game 4 and the Hurricanes’ swoon to start this one.
The whiplash of Game 5 was a most fitting conclusion, right to the final moment when Devils goalie Jacob Markstrom, who was shaky in the second period but outstanding after that, shattered his stick in the aftermath, an echo of Brodeur’s frequent frustration.
“After (Taylor Hall) scored that first goal, the place just erupted,” said Jackson Blake, who scored his first career playoff goal. “We came out so fast in the second period.”
The Hurricanes had a lot to celebrate. Even in the otherwise forgettable first period, Andrei Svechnikov continued to be at his explosive best, finishing with a career-high nine shots on goal, tied for second-most by anyone in a game this postseason, and getting the goal he deserved.
The Hurricanes absolutely dominated on special teams, going 6-for-19 on the power play, including two Tuesday, and a perfect 15-for-15 on the penalty-kill with a short-handed goal to boot, the inverse of their second-round elimination by the New York Rangers a year ago.
The conclusion even had an unusual moment of grace, when Brett Pesce — an absolute warrior for the Devils in this series, worn down to the point he was a game-time decision for Game 5 — shared a long series of prolonged hugs with his former teammates and coaches before exiting the ice to the applause of the opposing fans, the rarest of tributes.
There was also Stefan Noesen and Dougie Hamilton and Erik Haula — eliminated by his former teammates in a fourth straight postseason — but Pesce’s roots run even deeper. He endured the end of The Drought and was a critical part of the Hurricanes winning a playoff series for six straight seasons. Such bonds are not easily broken, even when he was on the other side as they won their seventh.
And if the Hurricanes and Devils revel in unpredictability, that streak of at least one postseason round won has become almost a certainty. By no means should that be taken for granted, but the Hurricanes have done a creditable job of guaranteeing themselves home ice and a high seed in the opening round, and taken advantage year after year after year after pulling the upset against the Capitals in 2019.
“It’s what we’ve tried to do, hang our hat on being consistent,” Brind’Amour said. “We want to do that. Obviously, we want to win the whole thing, that’s the goal. And it’s extremely hard to do, everyone understands that. It’s extremely hard to do if you’re not healthy. We just played a team that was beat down and missing a lot of players.
“It’s hard to win in the playoffs when you don’t have your group. So it should look like that, in my opinion. In all the years we’ve come up a little short, what’s been the — we’re missing guys. If we can stay healthy, I think we’ve got a good opportunity. That’s going to be the whole key to this.”
Kotkaniemi was able to join the celebrations, stitches around his bruised eye but seeing and smiling. Andersen was walking around afterward, with every reason to believe he’ll be ready for the next round. The Devils’ injuries caught up with them. The Hurricanes are banged up, but more or less healthy.
It took another crazy finish, but the Hurricanes are moving on. Expect the unexpected when the Hurricanes and Devils collide, other than this: Expect the Hurricanes to advance.
Never miss a Luke DeCock column. Sign up at www.newsobserver.com/newsletters to have them delivered directly to your email inbox as soon as they post.
Luke DeCock’s Latest: Never miss a column on the Canes, ACC or other Triangle sports
This story was originally published April 30, 2025 at 5:30 AM with the headline "How Hurricanes-Devils Game 5 lived up to expectations of the unexpected — again."
