The New York Islanders won 5-1 over the Carolina Hurricanes in a closer Game 3 than the final scoreline on Friday night had predicted. New York thus reduced the gap to 2 to 1 in the first round series.
New York exploded with four goals in just 2:18 of the third period. It’s the fastest four straight goals in NHL playoff history.
“It’s a tough ending,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “It was a tight game and he flew away at the end. We will pull ourselves together and come back to the next game. “
The first period saw no one put their name on the scoresheet, despite a penalty to Shayne Gostisbehere for holding. An opportunity that the Islanders failed to realize.
The first goal came in the second period, when Casey Cizikas took advantage of a fine pass from Ryan Pulock to score with a good one-timer from the circles.
The Hurricanes’ retort came minutes later, when Jesper Fast received a fine pass from shorthanded Jordan Staal to tie the game.
The suspense lasted until the very end of the third period, due to fine saves by the Carolina goalkeeper. The almost invincible Antti Raanta wall finally gave way, as veterans Kyle Palmieri and Matt Martin beat Raanta in quick succession to give New York a solid lead late in the game.
Rob Brind’Amour pulled his goaltender hoping to tie the game. Scott Mayfield scored an empty net goal. Then, Islanders captain Anders Lee deflected Cizikas’ shot to sow hysteria in the UBS Arena.
“We knew every game would be a battle,” Palmieri said. “We hung on and found a way out in the end. “
Carolina was limited to three shots on three power plays over 11½ minutes from the end of the first period to the middle of the second period.
“I think we were playing really well,” Cizikas said of the Islanders’ play before the scoring streak. “We were doing what we had planned to do from the start. We did not hesitate. We kept rolling four lines, we kept attacking them. “
The next game in the series will be played in New York on Sunday.
Referee TJ Luxmore left the game early in the second period after being cut in the left leg by Hurricanes player Brady Skjei’s skate when the defender slid on him along the boards. Substitute referee Wes McCauley briefly replaced Luxmore until he returned a few minutes later.
Defender Alexander Romanov was back in action, having been out since April 1 with an upper body injury.
