Devils Hold Down the Hurricanes, 5-1

When the New Jersey Devils play mistake-free hockey, they are the team most of the NHL has a hard time beating.

Patrik Elias and Sergei Brylin scored 1:21 apart in the first period, and Randy McKay had two goals as the Devils defeated the Carolina Hurricanes, 5-1, Sunday to close out the Eastern Conference quarterfinal series, 4-2.

“This wasn’t easy for us,” said Scott Stevens, captain of the Stanley Cup champions who knocked out Carolina captain Ron Francis and top rookie Shane Willis earlier in the series with bone-jarring hits. “We had a gut check here and we got through it.”

The Devils, seeded No. 1 in the East, will face the Toronto Maple Leafs, who have been resting for several days after knocking off the No. 2-seeded Ottawa Senators in a four-game sweep.

McKay, who had only 14 post-season goals in 104 games entering the series, scored his second of the game six minutes into the third. He gave the Devils a 3-1 lead with 2:03 left in the second period.

“You don’t make the playoffs in this league without having a good hockey team, so they showed a lot of courage in the way they played,” McKay said.

Alexander Mogilny closed out the scoring with 5 1/2 minutes left. Bobby Holik had three assists and finished the series with a team-high eight points.

The Hurricanes were just the 10th team in NHL history to force a Game 6 after falling behind 3-0 in a best-of-seven series. The last team to do so was the former Hartford Whalers--now the Hurricanes--in 1988 against Montreal.