25 Clutch Goals in Carolina Hurricanes History (Part 3: #5-1)

5 of 6

NEWARK, NJ – APRIL 28: Eric Staal #12 of the Carolina Hurricanes celebrates his game-winning goal at 19:28 in the third period with teammate Joni Pitkanen #25 against the New Jersey Devils during Game Seven of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal Round of the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Prudential Center on April 28, 2009 in Newark, New Jersey. Hurricanes defeat the Devils 4-3 (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) /

#2: April 28, 2009- The Shock at the Rock

The Devils find themselves on the list again, this time as part of the completion of “The Shock at the Rock.” Jussi Jokinen had tied the game with 1:20 left, setting up what was promising to be a thrilling overtime in Game 7 in New Jersey. The series had gone to overtime twice already. In Game 2, Tim Gleason was the hero for Carolina, while Travis Zajac returned the favor in Game 3 for the Devils. With all of the history the Canes and Devils had created throughout the 2000s, overtime would’ve been a fitting way to end the series. However, no such thing would be required. With plenty of space at the top of the right circle, Eric Staal snapped a wrister past Martin Brodeur with 31.7 seconds left to stun the New Jersey crowd. What looked like a Devils’ series win turned into a Canes’ series win in about 50 seconds. To this day, it remains one of the biggest upsets in team history, and it would help set up another seven-game upset win in the next round as the Carolina Hurricanes knocked off the top-seeded Boston Bruins in spectacular fashion. The Hurricanes had New Jersey’s number during the 2000s, with Staal and Cam Ward haunting the nightmares of the Devils’ faithful.

Home/All Time Lists