Newark, NJ -- (Sports Network) - Jussi Jokinen and Eric Staal scored 48 seconds apart in the final 80 seconds of regulation to lead the Carolina Hurricanes to a stunning 4-3 victory over the New Jersey Devils in the decisive Game 7 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series at Prudential Center.

Tuomo Ruutu and Ray Whitney also scored for Carolina, which entered the third period with a 3-2 deficit but erupted late to shock the Devils. Jokinen tied the game with 1:20 left, and then Staal netted the game-winner with 31.7 seconds remaining.

Cam Ward finished with 32 saves for the Hurricanes, who will face the top- seeded Boston Bruins in the second round. Game 1 of that series will begin on Friday in Boston.

"We stuck with it and we didn't panic," said Ward. "We waited for our opportunities and we capitalized. That's why you play until the final buzzer. The series came down to seven games and to the 59th minute of the final game."

Brian Rolston's power-play goal midway through the second period gave New Jersey a lead that everybody in the building thought was safe with Martin Brodeur -- arguably the best goaltender in league history -- between the pipes. Brodeur was stellar through the first 18-plus minutes of the final stanza, but the visitors scored the two late goals to seal the win and clinch the series. Brodeur made 10 saves in the third and 27 in the game.

"We had a grip on the game and we let it go in the last few minutes," said Brodeur. "We were in control for most of the game and we had our chances to put them away, and once again we let them hang around and the puck bounced on their side."

Jamie Langenbrunner and Jay Pandolfo also scored for the Devils, who for the second spring in a row suffered an early playoff exit. Last season, New Jersey was ousted in five games by the cross-town rival New York Rangers.

"I'm still in shock -- it stings, that's for certain," said Langenbrunner. "We battled though a lot and we gave ourselves a chance tonight, but this one hurts."

With the roaring home crowd standing ready to celebrate the series victory, the Devils, with a 3-2 lead, tried to clear their defensive zone with under two minutes remaining in regulation. However, a sliding Tim Gleason kept the puck inside the blue line at the centerpoint and Gleason barely pushed the disc over to Joni Pitkanen along the left side near the top of the circle. Pitkanen then fired a pass across the slot for Jokinen, whose one-timer from the lower right circle slid through the pads of Brodeur and created a 3-3 tie at 18:40.

"We showed a lot of character at the end of the game," said Staal. "It was a huge play by Joni and Jussi to get the tying goal."

The Devils were stunned, but appeared ready to regroup and focus on overtime. However, somebody forgot the tell the Hurricanes, who shockingly tallied the game-winner 48 seconds later on Staal's fifth goal of the series. Staal held control down the right-wing side, cradled the puck on the forehand and released a laser wrist shot that flew past Brodeur and into the back of the cage with 31.7 seconds remaining in regulation.

"I had some room down the wing, and I tried to get a shot and luckily it went in," Staal said. "I figured if we (already) scored one, (let's) try to get another one."

Ward, who was on the ice for both goals, made a critical final save during a scramble in front of the Carolina crease as the Hurricanes stole the game and the series.

This marked the second time in this series that Carolina won a game in late fashion. Game 4 ended on Jokinen's tip-in goal with 0.2 seconds to play in regulation.

"It was a series that could've gone either way," Ward added. "It was such a close series."

As the third period commenced, there was a general feeling that Brodeur would not be scored upon. Carolina threw everything it had at the netminder, but could not put the puck in the net. Meanwhile, the Devils also had good chances of their own to add an insurance goal but failed to do so.

John Madden had the first of his two 2-on-1 chances with about 15 minutes remaining but shot wide of the net.

"We had some 2-on-1s that could have gone in and we did a lot of good things," Langenbrunner said.

With under 12 minutes remaining, Staal had several unsuccessful jabs at the left post. Close to midway through the third, Carolina gained a power play but Brodeur was quicker on a redirection chance by Whitney in close after a give- and-go.

Langenbrunner was all alone in front with over nine minutes remaining and could not score, and Brodeur kept the Devils in the lead soon after when he stoned Erik Cole on a blast from the slot with 6:50 on the clock.

Following Cole's opportunity, Madden again broke in on a 2-on-1 down the right-wing side, but Ward made the save. Brodeur was just as sharp on his end, as he thwarted a Sergei Samsonov wrist shot from the slot with nearly four minutes left.

The teams exchanged goals before three minutes elapsed in the first period.

The Hurricanes grabbed the lead only 62 seconds after the opening faceoff. Matt Cullen carried the puck down the right-wing side and delivered a soft drop pass to Ruutu, who accepted the puck at the top of the circle. Two strides later, Ruutu fired a wrister that Brodeur had trouble seeing due to an inadvertent screen by Johnny Oduya and the puck sailed into the back of the net.

However, New Jersey answered quickly when Langenbrunner's goal at the 2:31 mark knotted the contest at 1-1. Strong forechecking by Travis Zajac allowed him to control the puck deep in the New Jersey offensive zone along the rear boards near the base of the right half-wall. Zajac sent a cycle-pass back behind him along the wall and the puck was picked up by Zach Parise. Parise then fired a pass across the crease to Langenbrunner, whose one-timer from in close near the left post lit the lamp.

Langenbrunner now has four goals in five career Game 7s.

The Devils moved ahead 2-1 on Pandolfo's first goal of the postseason. The play was created due to a crisp New Jersey breakout from its defensive zone, and Madden ended up with control of the puck down the left-wing side. From near the outer rim of the circle, Madden centered the puck and Pandolfo successfully redirected it past Ward from near the top of the crease with 6:33 remaining in the opening period.

An odd goal that was credited to Whitney brought Carolina even at the 3:42 mark of the second stanza. The puck was held by Staal along the rear boards behind Brodeur and Staal sent a blind backhand pass toward the low slot. Whitney was in position and wound up for a one-timer, but whiffed.

However, the momentum of his shot attempt put his skate in a position to come in contact with the puck, which caromed off of Whitney's skate and slid under Brodeur. New Jersey blueliner Mike Mottau slid through the crease trying to block the shot, and his presence appeared to fool Brodeur, who was also tricked by the slow speed of the failed shot attempt. The play, which was ruled a goal on the ice, was reviewed but quickly upheld as the officials determined that Whitney did not intentionally kick the puck.

A slashing penalty called on Cullen in the middle stages of the second stanza led to a power-play goal that gave the Devils a 3-2 edge. On the power play, Brian Gionta sped down the right-wing and sent a pass all the way across the offensive zone, purposely shooting the puck off of the opposite half-wall on the left side. The puck caromed off the boards and sat perfectly for Rolston, who drilled home a one-timer from above the left circle at the 8:47 mark.

Soon after Rolston's tally, the visitors gained a 5-on-3 advantage. The best chance for the Hurricanes while skating two men up was a one-timer from the right circle by Jokinen that was stopped by both Brodeur and the right post. Carolina gained another power play shortly thereafter, but failed to produce any serious scoring chances.

With 2:40 remaining before the second intermission, Parise was cut under his left eye by the stick of Carolina defenseman Gleason and the Devils were awarded a four-minute power play but failed to cash in.

Game Notes:

Brodeur is now 98-78 all-time in the playoffs and fell to 5-4 in nine career Game 7s...The last time both teams played in a Game 7 before this contest was a Stanley Cup-winning contest. The Hurricanes played in their first Game 7 since they won the Cup against Edmonton in 2006 and improved to 3-3 all-time in such games. New Jersey, meanwhile, last played in a Game 7 in its Cup celebrating 3-0 shutout of Anaheim in 2003. The Devils fell to 6-7 all-time in Game 7s...New Jersey was again without defenseman Bryce Salvador, who missed the final three games of the series with a knee injury...This was the fourth time since 2001 that these teams have met in the postseason. New Jersey won the first matchup in 2001 but have lost the last three series (2002, '06, '09)...Brodeur surpassed Ken Daneyko and now holds the top spot in franchise history for playoff games played (176)...Entering this postseason, the Devils had won 10 consecutive series in which they captured Game 1 of the set. The streak was broken, as the Devils won the series opener back on April 15...The Devils were 1-for-4 on the power play, while the 'Canes were scoreless on four power-play chances.