* The Carolina Hurricanes eliminated the NJ Devils in their playoff series wit a 3-2 victory on Thursday night in Raleigh, North Carolina. Jesper Fast deflected in a shot by Jesperi Kotkaniemi at 7:09 of overtime to give the Canes the win. Jaccob Slavin and Brent Burns also scored for Carolina, and Frederik Andersen made 27 saves. For the Devils, Dawson Mercer and Timo Meier scored, and Akira Schmid stopped 36 shots.
Carolina will be making their first trip to the Eastern Conference Finals since 2019. The Hurricanes will face the winner of the Florida-Toronto series, which the Panthers lead 3-1.
* In Game 5 of their second-round playoff series, the Dallas Stars defeated the Seattle Kraken with a score of 5-2 on Thursday in Dallas. Roope Hintz had two goals and had an assist, Joe Pavelski scored his seventh goal of the series, and goalie Jake Oettinger had 29 saves, helping the Stars defeat the Kraken — and move within one victory of advancing to the Western Conference Finals.
Dallas heads into Game 6 on Saturday in Seattle with a 3-2 series lead.
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