Devils season ends in Carolina.

       The New Jersey Devils came out firing in game five, scoring the first three goals and looking like a team determined to force a game six at home in Newark.

It didn't last as Carolina scored three goals to tie the game in less than four minutes early in the second period (all goals while I flipped over to watch the overtime between the Milwaukee Bucks and Indiana Pacers).

When the teams exchanged goals later in the period, the stage was set for overtime after a scoreless third.

After one overtime, it was onto the second, and after a game Devils' penalty kill tried to battle through a double-minor for high-sticking. Carolina's Sebastian Aho scored for the second time in the game to send the New Jersey Devils home with a 5-4 defeat.

New Jersey goals: scored by Dawson Mercer, Timo Meier, Stefan Noesen, and Nico Hischier.

Jacob Markstrom finished the evening with forty-nine saves.

Hell Raisers

1) Is it possible for a goaltender to allow five goals and still be outstanding?
The answer is yes in the case of Jacob Markstrom, who single-handedly kept the Devils in the game in both overtime.

2) Markstrom's play in the series was outstanding, especially considering the injured defensemen from the lineup.

Perhaps Markstrom didn't quite match Fredrik Anderson, but he was still excellent and deserves credit for his play during the series.

3) Markstrom's second-period play wasn't great, as two of the three Carolina goals were soft, but his play otherwise was strong.

4) The Dawson Mercer penalty in the second overtime ended this game then and there, as a team that is forced to kill four minutes in the second overtime, usually will be beaten by exhaustion.

It's usually inevitable, and this time, it was as well.

5) Crazy stat of the series- at even strength, New Jersey outscored Carolina 11-9.

Considering the team's strength all season on the power play, usually that's enough to have the series within grasp, but when you don't take advantage of the other team's mistakes, things become tougher.

6) It's been a difficult season with the injury bug biting the Devils hard, but this is a team that has a core when healthy to challenge for a title.

Tom Fitzgerald still has work to do, and we will see if he has the will to make it happen, but this team is close.