Hurricanes Reach Finals
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TORONTO — Martin Gelinas and the Carolina Hurricanes didn’t let another late game-tying goal rattle them. And now they’re making their first trip to the Stanley Cup finals.
Gelinas, in the slot, tipped in Josef Vasicek’s centering pass 8:05 into overtime Tuesday night, lifting the Hurricanes to a 2-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs and clinching the NHL Eastern Conference finals in six games.
Jeff O’Neill also scored for the Hurricanes, and Arturs Irbe stopped 35 shots, as Carolina improved to 6-1 in overtime games this postseason.
The outcome was eerily similar to Carolina’s 2-1 Game 2 overtime victory, in which the Maple Leafs forced overtime on Alyn McCauley’s goal in the waning seconds.
This time it was Toronto captain Mats Sundin who provided his team brief hope, tying the score with 21.8 seconds remaining.
Carolina will open the finals on the road against either Colorado or Detroit.
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