CAROLINA DEFEATS TOP SEEDED BRUINS IN GAME 7 OVERTIME WIN

For the first 18 minutes of overtime in Thursday night’s game seven NHL playoff match against the Boston Bruins, the Carolina Hurricanes were just one mistake away from ending an incredible season.

But with only 1:14 left in the sudden death period, Carolina right winger Scott Walker slipped his first playoff goal past Bruins goalie Tim Thomas to send the Hurricanes into the Eastern Conference finals.

“I just went to the net and whacked one in,” Walker told the Associated Press. “Didn’t take much skill.”

Carolina took a 3-1 lead in the series, but lost two straight to force a decisive game seven.

The Hurricanes, which beat New Jersey in the first round, will now take on the fourth-seeded Penguins. That series begins Monday, May 18 at 7:30 p.m. in Pittsburgh.

The winner will head to the Stanley Cup Finals against the winner of the Western Conference Finals, which pits the Detroit Red Wings against the Chicago Blackhawks.

Photo: Scott Walker shoots the game-winning goal past Bruins goalie Tim Thomas in overtime (AP)