NEW YORK – Ryan Carter snapped a tie with 4:24 left, and the New Jersey Devils survived for a 5-3 victory over the New York Rangers after blowing a three-goal lead in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals Wednesday night.

The Devils, who led 3-0 before the first period was half over, have a 3-2 edge in the series and can advance to face the Los Angeles Kings in the Stanley Cup finals with a win at home Friday night. If the Rangers can stay alive, Game 7 would be back in Madison Square Garden on Sunday.

The Devils seemed primed for an easy win when Stephen Gionta and Patrik Elias scored within the first 4:13 of the game. Travis Zajac made it 3-0 before the Rangers woke up and began chipping away.

Brandon Prust brought New York within 3-1 before the first period was over, and Ryan Callahan made it a one-goal game in the first minute of the second. The Garden really rocked when Marian Gaborik tied it at 3 just 17 seconds into the third with his first goal of the series.

But the comeback was all for naught. Carter put the Devils back in front, and Zach Parise sealed it with an empty-net goal in the closing seconds.

“I thought we probably played our best game of the series tonight,” Rangers Coach John Tortorella said.

Once Gaborik tied it with an unassisted goal that ricocheted in off the skate of goalie Martin Brodeur, it appeared the Rangers would ride the comeback all the way to one of the most stirring wins in team history.

Carter made sure it wouldn’t happen.

Ilya Kovalchuk knocked Michael Del Zotto off the puck in the right corner, and Gionta sent a pass in front to Carter — who had just charged in front from the bench — for a quick shot that beat Henrik Lundqvist.

“You have to (keep it together) this time of year,” Gionta said. “You have to have a short memory. Fortunately we did and came out with the victory.”

NOTES

The Vancouver Canucks signed Coach Alain Vigneault to a contract extension, ending speculation that the team’s playoff loss to Los Angeles might cost him the job. The Columbus Blue Jackets signed right wing Derek Dorsett to a three-year contract after his finest NHL season. Dorsett had 12 goals and eight assists and 235 penalty minutes — leading the league in that category — in 77 games. Finnish star forward Mikael Granlund signed with the Minnesota Wild, who selected him with the ninth overall draft pick in 2010. The St. Louis Blues said assistant coach Scott Mellanby won’t be back next season. Mellanby, 45, has been with the team the last two seasons, and was retained from Davis Payne’s staff when Ken Hitchcock was hired as head coach in November.