Apr 26, 2022; New York, New York, USA; Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Ian Cole (28) skates with the puck against the New York Rangers during the first period at Madison Square Garden. Tom Horak-USA TODAY Sports

Ian Cole was the most unlikely hero for Hurricanes in Game 1 win

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Larry Brown | Last updated 5/19/22

The Carolina Hurricanes staged a late comeback on Wednesday night to win Game 1 of their Eastern Conference second-round playoff series with the New York Rangers, and Ian Cole was the unlikely hero.

New York took the early lead on a first-period goal by Filip Chytil. They held the lead until Sebastian Aho scored to tie the game with around two minutes left.

The game went to overtime, where Cole won it with a goal that surprised Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin.

Ian Cole catches Igor Shesterkin by surprise and scores, Carolina wins in OT pic.twitter.com/T8JaJVv33K

— CJ Fogler AKA Perc70 #BlackLivesMatter (@cjzero) May 19, 2022

What’s so surprising? The 33-year-old defenseman is known for everything but his goal-scoring abilities. In 12 NHL seasons, Cole has only scored 29 career regular season goals. This was just his second career postseason goal.

Cole’s other postseason goal was a big one too, which came in the 2016 Stanley Cup Final.

Ian Cole's only other postseason goal came with the Penguins in Game 4 of the 2016 Stanley Cup Final against the Sharks: pic.twitter.com/rLsuvdTWDM

— Seth Rorabaugh (@SethRorabaugh) May 19, 2022

The OT winner tonight was Ian Cole's first OT goal in the NHL, regular season or playoffs. He said he felt "a little claustrophobic" when his teammates mobbed him. His visor fogged and he had hair in his eyes, so he couldn't see.

"Probably the only time I like that," he said.

— Dan Rosen (@drosennhl) May 19, 2022

The Hurricanes now lead 1-0 after turning a likely loss into a win.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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