Sebastian Aho's second power play goal of the night, 4:17 into the second overtime, punched the Canes' ticket to the second round and capped off a huge comeback in a 5-4 win over the New Jersey Devils. Jersey led 3-0 after the first 10 minutes as the Canes were playing in quicksand from the start. But, Carolina needed just 5:40 of the second period to draw even. Goals from Taylor Hall, Jackson Blake and Andrei Svechnikov made it a brand new game. The Canes would trail again, as Devils star Nico Hischier would score his 4th goal of the series, but Aho's first power play goal of the night leveled the game again. From there, Carolina did everything but score as they peppered New Jersey goaltender Jacob Markstrom over the final 44:17, out-shooting the Devils 34-12 with the last shot being Aho's second power play goal of the night. Aho led Carolina with 8 points in the series and now has 30 goals and 78 points in 79 career playoff games. Pyotr Kochetkov survived a disastrous opening frame as a starter for the first time in the playoffs. Carolina awaits the winner of the series between the Capitals and Canadiens. Notes: Aho is the first Hurricanes player to have 2 series-ending overtime game-winning goals. His goal eliminated the Nashville Predators in the opening round in 2021 before tonight. And, the Hurricanes are into the second round of the playoffs for the fifth straight year. The only team in the NHL that can say that.

The Canes took Game 4 from the Devils, 5-2, as Andrei Svechnikov registered his second career playoff hat trick. The win puts Carolina on the brink of the second round of the playoffs for the 5th consecutive season as they can close out New Jersey Tuesday night in Raleigh. Freddie Andersen started for the 4th straight playoff game and was sailing along with a 3-1 lead until Timo Meier crashed into him in the crease early in the 2nd period. Andersen was forced to leave the game as Pyotr Kochetkov came on for the first time in the series. He quickly gave up a goal to Meier but shut the door the rest of the way. Svechnikov scored 52 seconds into the game, then knocked in a power play goal in the first minute of the 2nd period and campped the scoring with an empty net goal with just under 4 minutes to play. Sebastian Aho and Jackson Blake each had 2 assists.

The Canes scored a pair of 3rd period power play goals and went 5 for 5 on the penalty kill and still somehow lost in double overtime to the Devils, 3-2. Simon Nemec scored 2:36 into the second OT, splitting Shayne Gostisbehere and Jack Roslovic and carrying the puck deep into the Carolina zone before beating Frederik Andersen between the blocker side arm and the body. Carolina fell behind 2-0 early in the 3rd but Seth Jarvis and Sebastian Aho netted power play goals to bring the Hurricanes even. Now the head coach has a decision to make with his goaltender. Start Andersen with a quick turnaround thanks to a 3:30 pm start on Sunday, or give the net to Pyotr Kochetkov, who hasn't played since last Wednesday in Montreal? Andersen was excellent in the loss, stopping 34 shots, as New Jersey out-shot the Hurricanes 37-27.

Frederik Andersen made 25 saves and Jordan Martinook scored a shorthanded goal leading the Canes to a 3-1 win over the Devils. Carolina takes a 2-0 series lead back to Newark for Game 3 on Friday night. The Devils went ahead in the first period through Jesper Bratt but the Hurricanes answered early in the second as Shayne Gostisbehere scored off a rebound of his own miss. Martinook would give the Canes the lead less than 3 minutes later as his first of the playoffs came shorthanded. Martinook now has 4 goals and 12 points in 7 playoff games against New Jersey - registering at least one point in each of the 7 games. Seth Jarvis scored into the empty net for the final margin. Through two games of the series, Carolina has one power play goal and one shorthanded.

Logan Stankoven scored twice in the second period as the Hurricanes raced out to a 3-0 lead en route to a 4-1 win over the Devils. Carolina takes Game 1 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series with Game 2 set for Tuesday in Raleigh. Carolina won the special teams battle, scoring once on the power play but also shutting the Devils down when New Jersey had the man advantage. The Canes also saw strong performances up and down the lineup during a physical game. Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis combined for 9 hits. Andrei Svechnikov played a very heavy game and Eric Robinson and William Carrier combined for 13 hits in the game. Jalen Chatfield opened the scoring less than 2 1/2 minutes into the game. Stankoven scored about 6 1/2 minutes apart in the 2nd. Svechnikov scored into an empty net late in the 3rd. Frederik Andersen made 23 saves and was very steady throughout.

The Canes final regular season game was a gong show of a 7-5 loss to the Senators. They always say that hockey is a game of runs (actually, no one says that.) The Sens scored the first three goals in the first period. Then the Canes scored twice before the period ended and three more times early in the second. In all, the five goals came in a 8:59 stretch spanning the 1st and 2nd periods. But Ottawa scored 4 times in a penalty-filled 3rd and the Canes have closed the season with 3 straight losses and a stretch that has seen them win just once in their last eight (1-6-1). In this episode we talk goaltending, the importance of Andrei Svechnikov and Jesperi Kotkaniemi, a sneaky resurgent Dimitri Orlov and I lay out what I believe will be the forward lines starting Easter Sunday.

The Canes left seven of their best players in the press box and lost the penultimate game of the season, 4-2, to the Canadiens. The win clinched a playoff spot for Montreal as the Hurricanes have now won just once in their last 7 games (1-5-1). Carolina dressed four players called up from the minor leagues including Skyler Brind'Amour - the head coach's son (duh) - who made his NHL debut, as well as top prospect Bradly Nadeau. The leading rookie goal-scorer in the AHL with 30, who played in his first NHL game at the end of last season, helped set up a Tyson Jost goal and made it 3-2 late in the 3rd period and played an otherwise very good game. Defenseman Dominic Fensore also impressed in his NHL debut. Taylor Hall scored the Hurricanes first goal. In this episode, Nick Bass who runs the CanesProspect feeds on both X and BlueSky joined me to discuss the young guys and Jackson Blake.

The Canes closed out their home schedule with a 4-1 loss to the Maple Leafs. Carolina played a great first period, but trailed 1-0 after a Pontus Holmberg goal. From there Toronto took the game over. Only Sebastian Aho's 3rd period power play goal kept Joseph Woll from a shutout. Inside, I discuss the disappoiintment of Andrei Svechnikov, Carolina's goaltending and the possible approach to the final two games of the season.