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 give the guys so much credit because there's not many games that even when we don't play well, that we don't get back into a game," said Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour. "We find a way and that's what happened tonight."

I mean, first off, 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.

"There's not much you can really do about the past there," said Jackson Blake. "It is what it is. Obviously we didn't have a great start and they made their push and came ready and got three quick ones on us. But we pretty much said that we can't focus on that. Have to turn the page and focus on winning the next period. It was that simple and everyone bought in. I think some teams would just pack it in and say, 'We're down 3-0 and we'd still have a 3-2 lead after this game,' but that's just not the way we are."

And funny enough, speaking of maturity and composure, it was actually the 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 to cut the lead to one.

"After Hallsy scored that first goal, the place just erupted," Blake said. "We came out so, so fast in the second period.  An unbelievable feeling, especially in that time of the game, to help us get rolling and get some momentum going."

And not too long after that, Andrei Svechnikov rifled one past Markstrom with a clear lane to tie it back up.

"It was going to come," Svechnikov said. "We knew that and we believed in each other and we believed in the group. We were losing 3-0, but we believed in each other and knew we were going to win.

Three goals in 3:54 of game time.

The Hurricanes were back in it.

"We had to just reset, Brind'Amour said when asked about his message in the first intermission. "Trash that period and try to get back in the game. That was kind of the message. Let's see what can happen, let's see if we can close the gap, give us a chance and the guys did. Clearly. From that point on, it was exactly the way we needed to play."

But then all of a sudden, they weren't.

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.

"We've scored some big goals in the series and you gain a little bit of confidence," Aho said. "I thought, even the ones we didn't score on, we were working and moving the puck and executing the plays. You're obviously not going to score every time, but I thought we were pretty dialed in in this series."

It looked from that point like it was going to be whichever goaltender could actually stop a puck would be the winning team, but it ended up that both teams' goalies really stepped up their play from there.

Pyotr Kochetkov shook off his brutal start and came through with some clutch saves in the third period, especially when his team was shorthanded.

"In the second period, I just came to him and said, 'Brother. I believe in you. You're the best goalie. Just put that in your head. Let's go,' Svechnikov said.

But Markstrom was the real showstopper down the stretch as he kept the Devils alive through wave after wave of a relentless Carolina push, especially in the first overtime period where the Canes outchanced New Jersey 29-5.

"He was making unbelievable saves," Brind'Amour said. "That was one of the better goaltending performances I've witnessed. He let in a few early that maybe he'd like to have back, but once he got dialed in, you're kind of thinking, 'Okay, it's going to have to bank off of somebody, because we're not beating him.' You tip your hat there because he was their best player, for sure."

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.

"KK took one for the boys," Aho said. "I know he doesn't mind at all. He'll trade a few stitches in the corner of his eye to clinch a series.

"It's a big gash, but thankfully it was over the eye and not in the eye," Brind'Amour said.

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.

"We had a couple of looks there before that and shots and I think Blake and Svech won two battles in the corner to keep the play alive," Aho said. "Those are all big plays at the end of the day. If they clear it, it's a whole 'nother story. 

"It felt unreal. Just blacked out for a second there. Crowd goes nuts and guys are jumping up on you. It's unreal. A really good feeling."

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!  

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