RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The horn sounded to give Carolina a long-awaited Eastern Conference Final breakthrough. And the Hurricanes immediately made their way across the ice to Frederik Andersen in the victorious crease.Veteran forward Jordan Martinook gave Andersen a hearty hug, tapping the goalie on the helmet the entire time. Then came defenseman Jalen Chatfield. And coach Rod Brind’Amour followed with a long hug and shared some words, with Andersen pausing afterward to bend forward and collect himself before going through the traditional handshake line.Andersen was steady again as the Hurricanes beat the Montreal Canadiens 6-1 on Friday night in Game 5 to send the Eastern Conference’s top seed on to the Stanley Cup Final to face Vegas. It came after an emotionally wrenching 36 hours for Andersen, whose agent — former NHL playing great Claude Lemieux — took his own life Thursday.
”It’s been a difficult couple days, but the way we showed up today and the last couple days for the team for each other, it’s been incredible,” Andersen said in a postgame interview with TNT. “I can’t talk enough good things about this team and the way they’ve supported me. It’s been awesome.”
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