Aho, Hurricanes eliminate Predators with Game 6 win in OT

NASHVILLE -- Sebastian Aho scored his second goal of the game at 1:06 of overtime to give the Carolina Hurricanes a series-ending 4-3 win against the Nashville Predators in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup First Round at Bridgestone Arena on Thursday.

Aho redirected a shot from Jaccob Slavin from the top of the left circle.
"I don't think we played, especially in the first two periods, and obviously Nashville, they were good, but I don't think we were quite there," Aho said. "The third period was an unbelievable effort through the lineup, and obviously [overtime] as well. It just shows that there's no quit in this team. We have that confidence that we're still in the game, even though we were down going into the third."

Dougie Hamilton and Brock McGinn each had a goal and an assist, and Alex Nedeljkovic made 24 saves for the Hurricanes, the No. 1 seed in the Discover Central Division who will play the Tampa Bay Lightning in the second round.
Mikael Granlund had a goal and an assist, and Juuse Saros made 27 saves for the Predators, the No. 4 seed.
"I really think we gave ourselves a chance to win a hockey game again," Granlund said. "It wasn't enough tonight and congratulations for Carolina. I'm really proud of the guys. The way we came back from the start of the season and this series, we really gave ourselves a chance to come through. But that's a really good hockey team and congratulations to them."
Carolina scored three straight goals after being down 3-1. The last four games of the series went to overtime.
"It's been like that all year," Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "We're playing games that aren't great, we look like we're probably out of it and then they just get it together. You've got a special group here. I mean, I know every coach would say that about their team, but we're proving it over and over and over. That's special."
Predators defenseman Roman Josi left the game at 5:30 of the third period after being hit into the boards by Hurricanes forward Jordan Martinook.
Hamilton tied it 3-3 for the Hurricanes with 6:01 left in the third period. After a face-off win by Aho, Hamilton headed from the opposite point to the far post and scored off a cross-ice pass from Slavin.
"I saw their guys were tired," Hamilton said. "They had been out there for a while, and I told [my teammates] 'Let's run [the play].' It worked out perfectly. We couldn't have done it any better. It was a huge goal for us. Happy it worked out."

Nick Cousins gave the Predators a 1-0 lead at 1:44 of the first period on a redirection of a pass from Erik Haula from the slot. McGinn tied it 1-1 at 4:21 on a shot from below the right face-off circle.
Granlund gave the Predators a 2-1 lead at 1:13 of the second period, scoring off a backhand pass from the point by Ryan Ellis.
Ryan Johansen extended the lead to 3-1 at 7:32 on a redirection of a pass from Josi on a 5-on-3 power play.
Aho cut it to 3-2 at 13:34 on a redirection of a shot by Hamilton on the power play.
"They turned it up, for sure," Johansen said. "But I think it was probably a little more on us and how we sat back and didn't have enough poise and continue to make plays and have the pace we were having there in the second period, especially. That's what we wanted to get back to in overtime, and obviously they scored early. They're a great hockey team, they did some good things in the third to tie it up and win it in OT."
NOTES:The schedule for the second round has not been announced. ... Game 6 was the only win for a visiting team in the series. … This was the third time there were at least four consecutive overtime games in a series (Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens, 1951; Phoenix Coyotes and Chicago Blackhawks, 2012). … Aho's eight points (six goals, two assists, four games) tied Brind'Amour (two goals, six assists, eight games) for the second-most points in potential series-clinching games in Hurricanes/Hartford Whalers history behind Eric Staal (four goals, six assists, 12 games). … Aho scored five goals with two assists in the series. … Brind'Amour's 16th playoff win tied Peter Laviolette for second in Hurricanes/Whalers history behind Paul Maurice (25). … McGinn has scored four points (three goals, one assist) in the past three games. … Granlund scored five points (two goals, three assists) in the last four games.