Paul Stastny kicked the ropes 6:00 into overtime and the Carolina Hurricanes eliminated the New York Islanders with a 2-1 win on Friday.
The Hurricanes have won the Eastern Conference First Round Series in six games.
Sebastian Aho forced overtime by tying the game at 9:24 of the third period.
Cal Clutterbuck had given the Islanders the lead midway through the first period. Ilya Sorokin made 39 saves.
In the next round, the Hurricanes will cross swords with the winner of the series between the New York Rangers and the New Jersey Devils.
The Devils lead the series 3-2 and will have the opportunity to eliminate the Rangers on Saturday.
Stastny played heroes seconds after Derek Stepan intercepted a clearance attempt by defender Ryan Pulock. Stastny surprised Ilya Sorokin from a tight angle, firing a shot from high on the goal line.
It was Stastny’s third game-winning playoff goal in overtime in his NHL career.
“When ‘Steps’ kept the puck in their zone, I knew he would pass me,” Stastny said. I wanted to attack, I was in the spirit of a two against one. When I saw that Jesse [Puljujarvi] approached, I thought I was going to shoot without seeing where the puck would go. I’ve done it before in training. It’s just the element of surprise. Sometimes luck is on your side. »
Frederik Andersen stopped 33 shots in his first outing since April 13.
“The Islanders played with a lot of intensity in the first period. It got me into the groove,” Andersen said. I tried to keep it simple, take it one shot at a time. It was fun. »
His last playoff start was in the 2020 bubble, with Toronto.
” It’s been a long time. I was very eager to relive that, ”he mentioned.