Hurricanes oust top-seeded Bruins in OT

Carolina finished the regular season on a roll and captured the No. 6 seed in the East. The Hurricanes upset New Jersey in the first round by winning the last two games, including scoring the tying and winning goals in the final 80 seconds of Game 7.

“I think it will be a little bit harder to fly under the radar now,” Maurice said.

Ward, the MVP of the 2006 playoffs when the Hurricanes hoisted the Stanley Cup, has won all six of his playoff series — the last four going seven games.

With the top-seeded Bruins eliminated, the three highest seeded teams in the East and two of the top three in the West are out of the playoffs. Only Detroit, seeded second in the West, moved on with a 4-3 win over the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday night. The Red Wings will play Chicago for a spot in the Stanley Cup finals.

“We had higher expectations than this,” Boston coach Claude Julien said. “We dug ourselves a hole. Had we played better in the beginning of the series (the Bruins) might have had different results.”

Bitz, a rookie forward, gave Boston the first lead with his first playoff goal. Michael Ryder’s shot from the left point hit the back wall and rebounded to the right of Ward. Bitz swopped in and scored into the empty side of the net to Ward’s left.

Brind’Amour tied it exactly two minutes after a penalty to Boston’s P.J. Axelsson, who was about to leave the box when the goal was scored. Dennis Seidenberg took a shot from 45 feet directly in front of Thomas, and Brind’Amour deflected it in.

Samsonov, who spent nearly his first eight full seasons with Boston, scored from Thomas’ right by redirecting a pass across the slot from Joni Pitkanen.

Lucic tied it when he skated behind the defense and into an open spot at the edge of the crease. Phil Kessel had the puck behind the net, skated out and passed to Lucic, who lifted it over the goalie.

Also on NBCSports.com NBA: Rondo's big-game DNA shines in Game 7  |  Highlights French Open: Nadal will win 7th title  |  Serena will win, too Video: 'Dancing' man Castroneves talks Indy 500 PFT: Jets' Scott doesn't want son to play football Follow us on Twitter: @NBCSports  |  And Facebook