This time, the Carolina Hurricanes didn’t let their opportunity slip away to finish off the New York Islanders at home.
Jack Drury scored the deciding goal early in the third period, and Stefan Noesen took advantage of a lucky bounce off the boards to score another just 8 seconds later as the Carolina Hurricanes defeated the New York Islanders 6-3 on Tuesday night, securing their victory in the first round of the NHL playoffs in five games.
The Hurricanes missed a chance to sweep the Islanders in a double-overtime loss over the weekend, then twice held two-goal leads before going into the final 20 minutes tied 3-3.
“They just kept coming,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “We had to play well to win this series.”
And that sets up the Hurricanes for a matchup with the Presidents’ Trophy-winning New York Rangers in the second round.
Drury scored his first goal in the postseason by controlling a bouncing puck that got past Jean-Gabriel Pageau, then shooting it past Semyon Varlamov to his blocker side at 4:36 of the third.
Then, after winning a faceoff, the Hurricanes dumped the puck ahead toward the corner. But as Varlamov went behind the net to play the puck, it took an unexpected bounce and hit the left post, then bounced into the crease.
Noesen rushed in to score as Varlamov tried to get back to the net, giving Carolina a 5-3 lead at 4:44.
That was enough to help the Hurricanes finally get past the determined Islanders, making them the first team to win at least one playoff series in six consecutive postseasons since Detroit did it from 1995-2000.
“They play the right way, they play hard, but we got the job done,” said Drury, who played on the third line in this game after starting this series as a fourth-line winger. “I think we stayed resilient, too, and it was a good bounce back in the third.”
Carolina took a 3-0 lead in this best-of-seven series before missing a chance to clinch in Saturday’s double-overtime road loss. That brought back memories from last year when the Islanders won Game 5 here to extend that first-round series before losing in six games.
This time, Carolina finished it off even after a tense atmosphere in those final 20 minutes. But by the end, Seth Jarvis scored an empty-net goal at the 18:21 mark, keeping Hurricanes fans cheering to close it out.
“We knew we — I don’t want to say, let off the gas — but we let them kind of crawl back into it in the second. … We have so many good veterans,” Jarvis said. “They kept us calm, we never really got flustered. They made sure we knew what was at stake and just came out in the third and executed.”
Noesen’s unusual goal added to the exciting game, which saw Casey Cizikas of New York scoring in the final seconds of the second period on an open net. Carolina goalie Frederik Andersen stumbled while trying to save and fell out of the crease.
Carolina scored twice and hit the post in the first 3 1/2 minutes. They led by two goals twice, even though coach Patrick Roy admitted his team was “dominated” in the first period, being outshot 21-4. The Islanders managed to tie the game at 3 with Cizikas’ goal, setting up an intense final period.
“I really thought that was the turning point in the game,” Roy said. “And then a couple of bad bounces … and we had our chances.”
Teuvo Teravainen and Andrei Svechnikov scored in the early rush from Carolina, while Evgeny Kuznetsov scored on a penalty shot for a 3-1 lead in the first period.
Mike Reilly and Brock Nelson also scored for the Islanders, who won eight of their last nine games to secure a playoff spot at the end of the regular season. This came after a coaching change in January when Lane Lambert was fired and Roy was hired.
Carolina was expected to win the Stanley Cup according to Bet MGM Sportsbook, but the Islanders made it tough for them throughout the series.
This included the Islanders playing better than Carolina in Game 1 and losing a 3-0 lead in the final minutes of Game 2. In the end, another quick burst of goals helped Carolina win.
“I’m not saying we should have won the series,” Roy said. “I’m saying we could easily have played Game No. 6 at home. Instead, it’s over. So it feels disappointing because I think we deserved better.”
Carolina defenseman Tony DeAngelo got hurt late in the game after a slash, adding to their injury troubles. Brind’Amour said DeAngelo was getting X-rays but had no further update.
