Las vigas. Jesper Fast became a superhero in North Carolina last night.
He decided on another surprising drama – and sent the Hurricanes to the Conference Finals in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
“Well, it’s obviously the biggest goal I’ve ever scored,” the 31-year-old from Småland told Sportbladet after the decisive 3-2 win over New Jersey.
Primarily known as the defensive warrior and effective “shutdown” forward, Jesper Fast, before the playoffs this year he never scored a sudden-death goal during his ten-year career in the NHL.
But suddenly it happens…
Already in Carolina’s opening duel against the New York Islanders, he decided the second home game at PNC Arena in overtime — and last night, when they were in position to hit in the fifth against the New Jersey Devils, he hit again.
Step forward into the blur
In a solid game seven minutes into the first overtime period, Jesper emerged into chaos in front of Devils goalkeeper Akira Schmid and headed in Jesperi Kotkaniemi.
At that moment, the entire quarterfinal series against the New Jersey Devils was decided and the Hurricanes were ready first of all for the final round of the conference.
– Yeah, incredibly fun, of course, says “Quckie” when we get to him a little over an hour after his orgasm in the barn house.
Biggest goal you’ve achieved? Like I said, I’ve never scored goals in overtime during my NHL career, so that really against the Islanders was a big one, but yeah, this one hits higher.
However, the truth is that the 31-year-old from Nassjo has generally been pretty toxic in the playoffs this year. The goal last night was his fifth and thus moves him alongside Adrian Kempe to the top of the Swedish shooting league.
– Several of our best attacking players are injured, so others have had to step up and yes, again, of course it’s fun to be able to contribute so much, he continues.
And the journey continues now with first appearances in the Conference Finals since 2019 – against the Florida Panthers or the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Yeah, we’ll see which one works out. Regardless, it’s going to be a lot of fun, says hero Fast.
Devils disappointment
However, that’s no fun for the Devils, who thought they had something really big going for them when they knocked out the Rangers in the first round – and the fact that the rest of the world agrees the young team will go much further in the future doesn’t help for now.
– No, it’s annoying now, says Captain Niko Hischier.
In theory, young star Jesper Bratt is available for the World Cup after tonight’s result, but he will sign a new contract this summer, so the chance of him joining Tre Kronor is slim.