Carolina First Team in Conference Finals Pool

Good morning and happy Friday, May 12th.

Today’s lineup:

• Hurricanes punch ticket to Eastern Conference Finals

• Roope Hintz another 3 points as Stars take series lead

• Alex Pietrangelo is suspended for game 5

• And a lot more… 👇

Nobody is asking anymore whether the Carolina Hurricanes can score enough goals to make a strong run for a Stanley Cup championship.

Jesper Fast scored his second overtime goal of the 2023 postseason to give the Hurricanes a 3-2 win against the New Jersey Devils and a berth in the Eastern Conference Finals. They will play either the Florida Panthers or Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Hurricanes are enjoying this playoff success without forwards Andrei Svechnikov (right knee surgery) and Max Pacioretty (torn Achilles). Forward Teuvo Teravainen has been out since Game 2 of the first round (fractured left hand).

Fast is among players who have stepped up to provide the necessary offense to make the Hurricanes the first team to claim a spot in the conference finals.

With two OT tallies, Fast is now one short of the NHL record of three in a single playoff year. That’s held jointly by Mel Hill (1939, Boston Bruins), Maurice “Rocket” Richard (1951, Montreal Canadiens) and Corey Perry (2017, Anaheim Ducks).

Fast scored the game-winner, on the power play, 7:09 into the overtime. Jesperi Kotkaniemi’s shot deflected off Fast as he was stationed in front of the net.

The Hurricanes are now averaging 3.64 goals-per-game in these playoffs. That ranks fourth among NHL playoff teams.

Defensemen Jaccob Slavin and Brent Burns scored Carolina’s first two goals. Defensemen have scored six goals for Carolina in this series. That’s a new Hurricanes’ record. That has helped Carolina overcome the loss of the injured players.

⭐️ Stars take series lead with 5-2 win over the Kraken thanks to another 3 points from Roope Hintz. Hintz scored twice and assisted on Joe Pavelski’s game-winner to give him 18 points this postseason, tying him with Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl for the playoff scoring lead. Rookie forward Wyatt Johnson scored four minutes into the 1st to give Dallas the 1-0 lead and Radek Faksa added an empty-netter to round out the Stars’ scoring. Jason Robertson collected three assists and Jake Oettinger made 29 saves for a .935 save percentage. The Stars have a chance to close out the series Saturday night at 7 PM in Seattle.

🪓 Alex Pietrangelo is suspended for game 5 for slash on Draisaitl. Late in game 4 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alex Pietrangelo hounded Leon Draisaitl on the backcheck to hopefully block his empty-net attempt, only to raise his stick above his head and unleash a wicked slash to Draisaitl’s hands, before going after Connor McDavid. Pietrangelo was assessed a major penalty and game misconduct on the play. Draisaitl got up under his own power but did not take another shift. Pietrangelo leads the Golden Knights this postseason in average ice time (24:37).

As of this morning, who leads this postseason in plus-minus?

• Devils 'gave everything they had' in Game 5

• Kraken on brink after Game 5 comeback falls short

• Oilers’ Nurse suspended one game for instigator penalty in Game 4 vs. Golden Knights

• NHL unveils Ullmark, Sorokin, & Hellebuyck as Vezina Trophy finalists

• Maple Leafs to start Woll again in Game 5; Samsonov, Knies remain out

• Keith Jones leaves TV to lead Flyers; Briere gets GM title

• Flames' Maloney dedicated to his craft: 'I'm not leaving until I get that Cup'

• Ryan Reynolds' bid for Senators won't move forward

• How will the Colorado Avalanche invest their cap relief?

• Morgan Stickney becomes second-ever female player to be drafted by WHL team

• ⌛️ Brent Burns wrister through traffic ties it with under a minute left in regulation

• 🎯 Adam Larsson snipes high glove off Eberle feed

• 🥫 Dawson Mercer buries gorgeous Timo Meier sauce pass

• 🪄 Jamie Benn to Wyatt Johnson magic on display

• ☝️ Jared McCann scores the 1st playoff goal of his career

• Jets 2v2 drill

• End of practice 2-puck drill/game

TRIVIA ANSWER

Jaccob Slavin leads the NHL playoffs with a +14 as of this morning.