Game 7: Canes 4, Devils 3

Staff photo by Chris Seward

• Photo gallery: Canes 4, Devils 3

• First Look: See 178 raw images from Game 7 

NEWARK, N.J. — Who would have thought the Hurricanes could top the finish of Game 4?

With 90 seconds to go, it looked like the Carolina Hurricanes' season was over. But Jussi Jokinen, the hero of Game 4, scored with 1:20 left to tie the game at 3.

And then, Eric Staal fired in the series-winner with 31.7 seconds remaining. The Canes held on during the final, desperate flurry of the New Jersey Devils to win their first Game 7 on the road.

Jokinen's goal was made possible by a desperate play by defenseman Tim Gleason, who dove to keep the puck in the Devils' zone along the blue line before feeding Pitkanen.

The Hurricanes move on to the Eastern Conference semifinals, where they will meet the top-seeded Boston Bruins. The Washington Capitals, who beat the New York Rangers 2-1 in Game 7 tonight, will face the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The thrilling finish negated a second period where the Canes couldn't convert on 1:08 of a two-man advantage in the second.  Jokinen did get off a good shot in close but Brodeur made the stop. ...

Both coaches said before the game that mistakes could decide the game, and Patrick Eaves made a costly one for the Canes.

On a Devils power play, Eaves had the puck and pushed past the blue line into the New Jersey zone. Instead of dumping, Eaves tried to drop off a pass that was picked off by the Devils.

Quickly going the other way, the Devils' took the 3-2 lead on Brian Rolston's goal.

Later Eaves did just that — dumped the puck into the corner — and drew a New Jersey tripping penalty on Dainius Zubrus. ...

The Devils' Zach Parise and Canes defenseman Tim Gleason have dueled throughout the series and both took bad penalties in the second. Parise was called for roughing Gleason, and Gleason later got a double-minor for a high stick on Parise that drew blood. ...

The Hurricanes’ penalty kill unit got caught a little deep and Brian Rolston made them pay as the Devils went up 3-2 at 8:47 in the second period.

Brian Gionta passed across from right to left to Rolston, who fired a bomb past Carolina goalie Cam Ward. …

Hurricanes forward Ray Whitney tied the game at 2-2 at 3:42 in the second period.

Similar to his goal in Game 6, Eric Staal passed from behind the net to in front of the crease, where Whitney went five-hole on New Jersey goalie Martin Brodeur.

Though the puck deflected off of Whitney’s skate, after the officials reviewed the play, the Canes were awarded the goal, as the defection off his skate was incidental.

FROM THE NHL:
"The play was reviewed by NHL Hockey Operations to determine if the puck was kicked in with a distinct kicking motion by Carolina forward Ray Whitney... the review determined that there was no distinct kicking motion. Call on the ice stands - good goal Carolina." ...

Whitney now has two goals and three assists in the last two games. …

Neither team looked particularly sharp in the first 10 minutes of the game, although both teams scored. And after the Devils tied it at 1-1, it was if both became cautious.

Eric Staal's line with Ray Whitney and Chad LaRose doesn't look nearly as sharp tonight as in Game 6, although LaRose has been effective hounding the puck. Staal doesn't appear to have the speed he did in Game 6.

On Jay Pandolfo's goal that made it 2-1, Staal labored to get back down ice but couldn't catch up with Pandolfo on the 2-on-1.

Later, he was two zones behind as the Devils went down ice.

In addition to his goal, Ruutu was involved in the biggest collision of the first period. Ruutu and Johnny Oduya each went down after a run-in in front of the New Jersey bench.

Brodeur had a big save eight minutes into the first on a Dennis Seidenberg shot from the point. ...

A break down on the Hurricanes’ blue line allowed John Madden and Jay Pandolfo to put the Devils ahead 2-1 at 13:27 in the first period.

Madden won the puck and moved up the left wing with Pandolfo to his right. In front of the net, Madden passed right to Pandolfo, who put the puck past Carolina goaolie Cam Ward. …

A pair of quick goals in the first two and a half minutes has the game tied 1-1 at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

First, Hurricanes forward Tuomo Ruutu scored at 1:02, with Matt Cullen dropping the puck to him. Ruutu wristed the puck off the left post from the right circle.

At 2:31, New Jersey captain Jamie Langenbrunner, who returned to the lineup in Game 6 after missing three games, scored with assists from Zach Parise and Travis Zajac. Langenbrunner was on Ward’s back door for Parise’s pass from behind the net.

In five Game 7s, Langenbrunner has four goals. …

Well, here we are. Canes-Devils, Game 7.

The consensus this morning was that the Canes looked to be the looser group and the Devils a bit edgy. We'll see if any of that matters when the puck drops.

The Canes' lines in pregame:

Whitney-Staal-LaRose

Ruutu-Cullen-Cole

Samsonov-Brind'Amour-Eaves

Bayda-Jokinen-Walker

Defense pairs:

Gleason-Corvo

Pitkanen-Seidenberg

Babchuk-Wallin

Defenseman Frantisek Kaberle again is a healthy scratch. ....