Bo Horvat ended a long goal drought, scoring the game-winner during a four-goal second period for the New York Islanders, who defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 4-3 on Saturday in Elmont, N.Y.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Oliver Wahlstrom each scored to tie the game, before Maxim Tsyplakov gave the Islanders a 3-2 lead with 3:44 left in the second period. Horvat scored his first goal since Nov. 7 (13 games) just 2:39 later to put the Islanders ahead for good.
Ilya Sorokin made 28 saves, including 18 in the third period, to help the Islanders hold off a strong push from the Hurricanes. Despite losing seven games this season after leading in the third period, the Islanders managed to keep their lead this time.
Andrei Svechnikov scored two goals, and Jesperi Kotkaniemi added a goal with an extra attacker in the final minute for Carolina, who has now lost four of five games (1-4-0). Pyotr Kochetkov made 21 saves.
Svechnikov opened the scoring with 4:17 left in the first, when his pass intended for Seth Jarvis hit the skate of Islanders defenseman Noah Dobson and went past Sorokin for a power-play goal.
Dobson got an assist on Pageau’s goal early in the second, setting up Pageau to tie the game at 1. Svechnikov answered with another power-play goal at 9:23, scoring off a cross-crease pass from Jarvis.
Wahlstrom quickly tied the game at 2-2 just 43 seconds later with an unassisted goal after forcing a turnover in the Carolina zone.
Pageau helped set up Tsyplakov’s go-ahead goal with an unusual assist when the puck deflected off him, allowing Tsyplakov to score.
Later in the period, Pageau passed to Horvat, who fired the puck into the top corner of the net to give the Islanders a 4-2 lead.
The Hurricanes pulled their goalie with over three minutes left, and Kotkaniemi scored with 48.7 seconds remaining to cut the lead to one. However, Carolina couldn’t get another shot off before time expired.
