The Carolina Hurricanes became the first team to advance to the second round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs, thanks to a Sebastian Aho double overtime winner.
The Canes eliminated the New Jersey Devils in five games, completing the deed in a 5-4 double overtime thriller Tuesday night at Lenovo Center.
It wasn't the easiest win in the world, as Carolina had to overcome a 3-0 deficit to force overtime in the first place, but once they got there, they weren't going to be denied.
I can't overstate how bad the Hurricanes were in that opening frame. I 100% figured the game was over after giving up three goals in the first 10 minutes of the game and even had the title written: 'Horrendous Start Keeps Series Alive.'
The team was just listless through the first 20 minutes, unable to clear pucks, skate through the neutral zone or set up in the offensive zone at all.
It was especially tough as the former Hurricanes kept being the ones to make the Hurricanes pay.
Brett Pesce continued to plague the Hurricanes with a pair of primary assists, banking one in off of Dawson Mercer's butt and then setting up Timo Meier in the slot off of a failed clear, and then Stefan Noesen grabbed the third goal with a redirection right in front of the crease.
The game looked well over at that point, so there's a lot of credit to be handed out to the Hurricanes for their maturity and composure in battling back and finishing off New Jersey.
And funny enough, speaking of maturity and composure, it was actually two rookies that got the ball rolling for Carolina.
At the tail end of the power play to start the second period, Logan Stankoven one-timed a Taylor Hall pass that squeaked through Jacob Markstrom (although Hall helped it the final way across the line).
Then it was Jackson Blake with a short-side shot on a curl around from behind the net.
And not too long after that, Andrei Svechnikov rifled one past Markstrom with a clear lane to tie it back up.
Three goals in 3:54 of game time.
The Hurricanes were back into it.
And then they weren't, as Nico Hischier put the Devils back ahead less than two minutes after Lenovo Center got rocking with an unimpeded look from the low circle.
But the wacky game kept getting wackier with the Hurricanes getting a 5v3 power play opportunity not too long after that and Aho scored his first of the night, putting home a great feed by Seth Jarvis.
It looked from that point it was going to be whoever could stop a puck would be the winning team, but actually both teams' goalies really stepped up their play from there, with Pytor Kochetkov shaking off a bad start and coming through with some clutch third period, shorthanded saves.
But Markstrom was the real show down the stretch as he kept the Devils alive through the first overtime that was all Carolina.
The Hurricanes had chance after chance after chance against a gassed Devils squad, but they just couldn't find a way to beat the Swedish netminder.
That was until the Canes got a power play early into the second overtime period as Jesperi Kotkaniemi took a high stick to the eye.
Upon review, Carolina was awarded a four-minute power play and Aho finally found a way to beat Markstrom for the final time this season.
The Canes now await the winner between the Washington Capitals (3) and Montreal Canadiens (1).
Be sure to check out the Carolina Hurricanes 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs Hub for all postseason stories!
Stay updated with the most interesting Carolina Hurricanes stories, analysis, breaking news and more! Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News to never miss a story.