So long New Jersey...

...and hello Boston!

Last night the Canes defeated the Devils in a thrilling 4-3 Game 7 win that they totally pulled out of their butt at the last minute.

Seriously, there was less than a minute and a half remaining and the Canes were down 3-2. Then BAM!, Jussi Jokinen and Eric Staal strike and the Canes are advancing to the second round.

The game started out on an excellent note, with Tuomo Ruutu notching his first point of the postseason at the 1:02 mark of the first period. Of course, I was enthralled by this goal because that meant the Canes were coming out fast and taking the Jersey fans out of the game early.

Then, of course, the Devils score a minute and a half later, thereby getting the crowd back into it.

Throughout the game I didn't think the Canes were playing well enough for them to win. Like so many other games in this series, they weren't playing bad, they just weren't playing hard enough to win a elimination game. Cam Ward kept them in the game in the third period, preventing Jersey from going up two goals instead of just one.

Then came the last rush, and Jussi Jokinen cemented his status as my bestest friend evah by scoring yet another needed goal in regulation:

Jokinen is like the Secret Weapon of Regulation - how he somehow is scoring these goals at just the right time is unknown to me - but whatever he's doing, he needs to keep it up!

So the game was tied. Then less than a minute later Eric Staal just gains the zone and shoots - flat out beating Martin Brodeur. I don't think Brodeur looked that bad on a goal the entire season. Granted, it was tipped or something, but still.

I just can't believe we won the game. Seriously, just thinking about it now just blows my mind. Why the heck wasn't scoring goals as easy as that the entire series?

And I must commend the New Jersey Devils. They played the toughest first round I've ever seen. These teams were so even, the series came down to a couple of bounces and tips here and there.

But now we must say goodbye to Jersey and face the upcoming second round opponent - The Boston Bruins. I'll leave the preview for another post (maybe? hopefully?) - just know that Game 1 starts this Friday.

Chad LaRose stats: 2 assists
Playoffs: 2 goals, 5 assists