RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- The handshake line formed as it always does

at the end of an NHL playoff series, and Carolina goalie Cam Ward

finally got his first face-to-face meeting with idol and

counterpart, Martin Brodeur.

"He just wished me well and said, 'Go all the way,' and I just

expressed to him that, in my eyes, he's the best," Ward said.

This time, it simply wasn't true.

Ward steadied himself following a rocky start, Cory Stillman got

the go-ahead goal on Carolina's first power play midway through the

second period and the Hurricanes beat the New Jersey Devils 4-1

Sunday night to win the best-of-seven series in five games.

"I think we deserved it," Carolina captain Rod Brind'Amour

said. "We were the better team, we felt it right from Game 1, and

now we're moving on."

Frantisek Kaberle, Ray Whitney and Eric Staal also scored for

the Hurricanes, who have won eight of their past nine games in the

playoffs. They finished off a winning series at home for the first

time in franchise history -- and will face the Buffalo Sabres next,

with the survivor advancing to the Stanley Cup final.

"The feeling is the same, it's that sense of relief," Carolina

defenseman Aaron Ward said. "If we didn't do it here, and we

didn't approach this like it was our Game 7, what kind of bed are

we making for ourselves? The coaching staff preached this was the

end-all, be-all game, and we had to take it right now and seize

it."

The Devils took a 1-0 lead less than a minute after the opening

faceoff, when Brian Gionta took advantage of a fortuitous bounce to

beat Ward -- the 22-year-old rookie netminder who was pulled after

allowing four goals in a little more than one period Saturday. New

Jersey won that game 5-1 to avoid a sweep, but Ward bounced back to

end the Devils' season a day later.

"Those type of games happen, that's the beauty of a seven-game

series," Ward said. "We were able to have a chance to redeem

ourselves in the next 24 hours. I think it's just important to how

you respond to those situations, and obviously, we responded very

well."

He finished with 17 saves, including 10 in the first period when

Carolina played short-handed for 8 minutes. The Devils failed to

capitalize on any of those power plays, and Kaberle tied the score

on the Hurricanes' second shot of the game.

It came when teammate Matt Cullen beat John Madden on a faceoff,

and Mark Recchi got the puck to Kaberle along the wall. His shot

ricocheted off Devils defenseman Paul Martin and past Brodeur,

electrifying another capacity crowd at the RBC Center.

"You sit back a little bit on your heels and wait and see

what's going on," Brodeur said. "The crowd's able to turn around

their team and tweak them up by one little hit, one little save on

net. It's just an opportunity missed. That's the bottom line."

After Carolina killed off another penalty early in the second

period, New Jersey was called for its first infraction. Defenseman

David Hale was sent to the box for cross-checking, and Stillman

made the Devils pay 50 seconds later.

Brind'Amour carried the puck in and passed to Justin Williams,

who quickly fed Stillman on the doorstep with Brodeur out of

position. It completed a nifty 3-on-2 -- Brian Rafalski and Brad

Lukowich were back on defense -- and the Hurricanes had the lead.

"It was great that we finally got a power play," Brind'Amour

said. "You don't see it very often, where we score on the rush,

but it was nice that we were able to tic-tac-toe it around."

Stillman later left the game with an apparent leg injury, when

he and New Jersey defenseman Brad Lukowich got tangled up along the

boards. He was helped off the ice by Brind'Amour and Williams, then

headed straight to the locker room.

"At this time, without extensive work from the hospital, it

doesn't appear serious," Carolina coach Peter Laviolette said.

And Ward helped his team stay in front. He was surprisingly

unflappable following his performance Saturday, even after Gionta's

early goal on New Jersey's first shot. Zach Parise chased down the

puck in the corner, and his whirling shot bounced off the knees of

Carolina defenseman Mike Commodore.

It skittered to Gionta, who controlled it with his skate before

lifting the puck over Ward's shoulder into the back of the net. The

goal ended a four-game pointless streak for Gionta, the worst

stretch of the season for the Devils' leading scorer.

"When you get the opportunities that we had there, you can take

the momentum right out of the game," New Jersey general manager

and coach Lou Lamoriello said. "That's what happens in these types

of games. We just didn't get it done."Game notes
New Jersey D Colin White, who missed five games with a

groin injury before playing in the final three of this series,

finished without a point in four games in the postseason. ...

Referee Mike Leggo made an interesting call late in the first

period, stopping play even though the puck was loose beside

Brodeur. The goalie was prone on his back, and Cullen was furiously

poking at the puck when the whistle blew. ... Devils D Tommy

Albelin, who will turn 42 next week, picked up the puck when the

game ended -- an indication he might retire.