Erik Haula (Minnesota) and the New Jersey Devils just kept on going—and now they're going to the second round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Devils won Game Seven of their first-round series Monday night, defeating their visiting rivals, the New York Rangers, 4-0, at the Prudential Center in Newark to claim the series, four games to three, after dropping the first two games last month. New Jersey then won four of the last five contests, with Haula leading all Devils skaters with four goals and two assists over the last six games of the series, including their third goal in the series clincher. It was the first Stanley Cup Playoff series for the Devils since 2018, and their first postseason series victory since 2012.
Haula, 32, a veteran forward from Pori, Finland, now has 16 goals and 20 assists for 36 points in 68 career NHL playoff games with Minnesota, Vegas, Florida, Nashville, Boston and New Jersey. Drafted 182nd overall by the Minnesota Wild before skating one season for Omaha (USHL), he then played three years at the University of Minnesota, recording 42-82—124 points in 124 games with the Golden Gophers from 2010 to 2013 while guiding them to two NCAA tournaments. He also helped Vegas to the Stanley Cup Final in 2018, in that franchise's inaugural NHL campaign.
New Jersey opens its second-round Eastern Conference series at Carolina on Tuesday night.
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