Carolina Assumes Control

Cory Stillman corralled a loose puck and slid it between Ryan Miller’s pads for a power-play goal 8 minutes 46 seconds into overtime, giving the Carolina Hurricanes a 4-3 victory over the Buffalo Sabres in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals on Sunday night.

Stillman also had an assist for the Hurricanes, who took a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series and are one win away from their second trip to the Stanley Cup finals in four seasons.

Carolina, which won, 4-0, on the road in Game 4 to tie the series, can advance Tuesday at Buffalo.

“We didn’t want to go down there being down 3-2,” Stillman said. “We’re excited. We’re going back, and we want to finish it there in Buffalo.”

Stillman took advantage only 1:34 after J.P. Dumont was sent off for hooking. Buffalo started overtime on a power play while Carolina defenseman Bret Hedican served the final 1:19 of his hooking infraction that carried over from the third period.

Justin Williams, Mark Recchi and Rod Brind’Amour also scored goals for Carolina, and Eric Staal had an assist to push his playoff points streak to 15 games.

The Hurricanes are the first team in the series to win consecutive games. The survivor will face the Western champion Edmonton Oilers for the Stanley Cup.

Chris Drury, Derek Roy and Toni Lydman each scored for the Sabres, who couldn’t hold a two-goal lead in the second period and now trail in a series for the first time in the playoffs.