2023 Postseason: Round 1, Game 2- Hurricanes v. New York Islanders (CAR leads 1-0)

Raleighwood was rocking on Monday night as the Canes and the Islanders squared off for Game 1 of the 1st round. The Canes wasted little time jumping ahead of New York as the power play struck early in the first. Sebastian Aho buried a one-timer five seconds into the man advantage to score the first goal of the series under four minutes into the first. The Canes' power play struck again early in the second period as Stefan Noesen redirected a shot from the point by Burns past Ilya Sorokin to make it 2-0. The Islanders responded 24 seconds later as Ryan Pulock miss-hit the puck but managed to get it to ride up the stick of Antti Raanta and into the net to cut the Canes' lead in half. From there, it became a defensive struggle. Both Sorokin and Raanta made some huge saves to keep the game 2-1 and that's where it would sit until the final horn as the Canes withstood the late push from New York and took the opening game in the series. Burns and Martin Necas ended the night with two assists each to lead a full-team effort for Carolina. Tonight, they hit the ice for the second game as the Canes look to defend home ice once again before making the trip up to Long Island for Games 3 and 4. 

Canes Lineup

Teuvo Teravainen--Sebastian Aho-Seth Jarvis

Stefan Noesen-Jesperi Kotkaniemi-Martin Necas

Jordan Martinook-Jordan Staal-Jesper Fast

Jack Drury-Paul Stastny-Derek Stepan

Jaccob Slavin-Brent Burns

Brady Skjei-Brett Pesce

Shayne Gostisbehere-Jalen Chatfield

Injuries/Scratches- Frederik Andersen (illness), Jesse Puljujarvi (healthy), Calvin de Haan (healthy), Dylan Coghlan (healthy), Pyotr Kochetkov (healthy)

IR- Andrei Svechnikov (Torn ACL), Max Pacioretty (Achilles), Ondrej Kase (concussion)

The Hurricanes will roll the same group of 18 skaters that they did for Game 1. 

Starting Goalies

NYI- Ilya Sorokin (35 Saves, 2 GA in Game 1)

Despite taking the loss, Sorokin played a very solid game in the series opener. He was definitely the busier of the two goalies and faced a few more high-danger chances. He'll be back in the net for this one trying to help his team even the series. 

CAR- Antti Raanta (25 Saves, 1 GA in Game 1)

Raanta outdueled Sorokin in Game 1 and there were some questions about whether he'd still be in the net for Game 2 or if the Canes would turn to Frederik Andersen. I think they've made the right choice by sticking with Raanta after playing very well to earn the Game 1 win. 

Scoring Summary

1st Period

(CAR) 5:49- Paul Stastny (1) (assisted by Jaccob Slavin (1) & Seth Jarvis (1))

2nd Period

(CAR) 7:19- Stefan Noesen (2) PP (unassisted)

(NYI) 10:48- Kyle Palmieri (1) (assisted by Noah Dobson (1) & Brock Nelson (1))

(NYI) 19:40- Mathew Barzal (1) (assisted by Adam Pelech)

3rd Period

(NYI) 9:18- Brock Nelson (1) (assisted by Kyle Palmieri (1) & Noah Dobson (2))

(CAR) 12:19- Jaccob Slavin (1) (assisted by Sebastian Aho (1) & Brent Burns (3))

Overtime

(CAR) 5:03-Jesper Fast (1) (assisted by Jordan Staal (1) & Brent Burns (4))

Let's Talk About the Game

In the playoffs, it doesn't have to look pretty. Tonight, the Canes played a good first period, a good final half of the third period, and a strong overtime. All of the in-between looked pretty sloppy and they paid for it dearly. The second time in the series, the Hurricanes jumped ahead early. The fourth line had a very good night and it would all begin with a sharp-angle shot by Jaccob Slavin. He slapped one toward Ilya Sorokin and Paul Stastny got his stick on it, deflecting it off the far post and into the net. We had a slightly scary moment about midway through the period as Sebastian Aho (Carolina) took a high hit from Cal Clutterbuck after taking a high stick from Casey Cizikas. Aho would be no worse for wear as the Canes drew the double minor to earn a prolonged power play. It would get cut a little short as Teuvo Teravainen took an offensive zone penalty to eat away two minutes as the Canes would come up empty. Both sides had their chances to get goals before the end of the period but couldn't beat Sorokin or Antti Raanta. At the end of the period, Matt Martin cross-checked Jordan Staal from behind in open ice while they were away from the puck and proceeded to sit on top of him. It led to the two teams coming together for a meeting of the minds after the final horn as Staal struggled to the bench. Martin would only get two minutes for interference as the Canes would begin the second period with a power play and a 1-0 lead. 

The second period would be dominated by power-play time for the Canes to start. They had the full two minutes from the Martin penalty with a fresh sheet of ice. They would come up empty but would draw their second double-minor of the night as Brett Pesce sported a healthy gash under his left eye from a high stick. Once again, the Canes weren't allowed to generate anything as the first half of the man advantage. What happened next is something we might not see again. Stefan Noesen was trying to flip a puck deep into the offensive zone. Sebastian Aho (New York) knocked the puck out of mid-air. Instead of playing it into the corner, Aho batted it toward his own net. Sorokin wasn't ready for it as it snuck past him to give the Canes the luckiest 2-0 lead ever and Noesen his second goal of the series. A flip seemed to switch on for the Islanders after they fell behind by two goals. It started with Kyle Palmieri taking matters into his own hands. He swopped around the net and fired a low backhand that Raanta couldn't get a pad on as it slid past him. During the goal, Pierre Engvall's skate did impede Raanta a little bit but the Canes didn't challenge it. I'm not in the business of guessing whether they would've won the challenge or not but I don't think they would've. The Islanders continued to pressure the Canes and in the final minute, they would find the equalizer. Brady Skjei made a very bad pass in the neutral zone that was intercepted by Adam Pelech. Pelech dropped it to Mathew Barzal and he snapped one under the glove of Raanta to tie it with 20 seconds left before the intermission. It was a very deflating goal to allow for the Canes. Still, the Islanders earned it by having an excellent second period on the road as it sat tied at two at the intermission. 

The Canes started the third period with a bit more of a push than we'd seen since the Noesen goal but the Islanders still ran the show. Raanta looked like he was shrugging off the late goal from Barzal as he made some big saves to start the period. However, New York would find their first lead of the series as Brock Nelson came down and snapped another shot under the glove of Raanta to make it 3-2 just before the halfway point in the period. Just like how Noesen's goal got the Islanders going, this goal from Nelson woke the Canes up. They started spending a lot more time in the offensive zone. The only problem was that they weren't beating Sorokin. All it took was a defensive defenseman whose second "C" stands for "clutch" to find the answer. Jaccob Slavin walked down the boards, faked a pass, and banked the puck off of the back of Sorokin's head to tie the game just 3:01 after New York took the lead. Sorokin seemed more worried about the pass to the front of the net as he leaned forward and gave Slavin a ton of room. The Canes would get a golden opportunity at the end of regulation with Seth Jarvis drawing a tripping penalty as he tried to make a move to the front of the net. This would be the Canes' sixth power play of the night but it would fall short again. The two teams wouldn't allow a goal in the final four minutes as the series went to overtime for the first time. The Canes wasted little time finding the winner. Brent Burns started a reload for the Canes, sending the puck up to Jordan Staal. The captain brought it into the zone and found Jesper Fast with a perfect cross-seam saucer pass. With Sorokin moving from side to side, Fast threw it against the grain, finding some room just inside the far post to win the game and send PNC Arena into a frenzy. It was a gutsy win for the Canes after they were largely outplayed for half of the game. 

Most of the online discourse after the game surrounds two different topics. First, Jordan Martinook got away with a very clear high stick on Scott Mayfield about ten seconds before the goal was scored. There were two referees looking in the general direction of the play and they both completely missed it. I can admit that it was a bad missed call. I've felt the officiating has been very bad through two games. Most people were very quick to point out that the Canes held a stunning 6-0 advantage on power plays tonight. The numbers are a bit inflated because of the two double minors that New York took. The real number of penalties was four for New York and one for Carolina. I know it doesn't make up for the missed call late in the game but that's the reality of the situation. The other big news is that Teravainen will be out for a little bit after he suffered a broken hand in tonight's game. The penalty came late in the third period on a slash that went uncalled, ironically enough. He'll be out for the rest of this series and will likely miss all or some of the next round if the Canes were to advance. This is a big blow to a team that is already down a few key players. As for tonight's game, it was a mixed bag for the Canes. I thought three of the four lines had very strong games and two of the three defensive pairs were solid. Raanta wasn't great but he did just enough to earn the win tonight. He was one save better than his counterpart on the other end of the ice. At the end of the night, the Canes defended home ice with two wins to start the series. They made it interesting tonight but it still counts as a win as they head to Long Island. 

Canes' Three Stars of the Game

Third Star- Jesper Fast (Goal)

When you win Game 1 at home, winning Game 2 becomes even more important before hitting the road. Fast scoring the game-winner in overtime to make it a 2-0 series lead was huge, especially after the game the Canes played. Before the goal, Fast had a solid night, throwing four hits and blocking three shots. Even with all of his defensive efforts, the overtime winner is going to be what is remembered. 

Second Star- Brent Burns (2 Assists)

Through two games, Burns has been exceptional. He's getting the job done in the offensive zone, evident by his team-high four assists, but he's also been very good in the defensive zone. He assisted on both the game-tying goal and the game-winning goal for another multi-point night as he now has eight points in his last five games. 

First Star- Jaccob Slavin (Goal, Assist)

Whenever Slavin makes a good play on defense, we acknowledge it but we've come to expect it from him. When he does something on offense, it's noteworthy. Tonight, it was especially noteworthy because he had a multi-point night, including the game-tying goal that would eventually force overtime. It was very reminiscent of a goal Trocheck scored during the postseason a few years ago. 

Around the League

Boston/Florida (Tied 1-1)- Behind two goals from Brandon Montour, the Panthers dismantled the Bruins in Boston tonight to even the series in a dominant 6-3 win. They've played surprisingly well in the first two games and drawing even before heading to Florida is huge if they want to pull off the upset. 

Toronto/Tampa Bay (TB 1-0)- This is not exactly how most fans in Toronto would've wanted the series to start as Tampa dominated the Leafs in Game 1. The Lightning scored three times on the power play and played most of the night with four defensemen with Victor Hedman and Erik Cernak getting hurt. 

New Jersey/New York (R) (NYR 1-0)- Chris Kreider scored twice and Adam Fox added four assists as the Rangers cruised to a 5-1 victory in Game 1 on the road. The only blemish to Shesterkin's night was a penalty shot in the third period that was scored by Jack Hughes as the Devils never found an answer. 

Dallas/Minnesota (MIN 1-0)- Minnesota jumped out to an early lead in the series after a double-overtime victory in Game 1 that was largely charged by Filip Gustavsson. Minnesota made a weird choice by giving Marc-Andre Fleury the start in Game 2 and they've paid for it as they currently trail 6-3 after two periods. 

Edmonton/Los Angeles (LAK 1-0)- After Edmonton dominated the first two periods of Game 1, the Kings scored three times in the third period to force overtime before eventually completing the comeback in overtime. Edmonton has dominated the first two periods again in Game 2 and they lead 2-0 once again. 

Colorado/Seattle (SEA 1-0)- Beating the defending champions in their barn in your first playoff game isn't a bad way to start if you're Seattle. Eeli Tolvanen scored the first postseason goal in franchise history and Philipp Grubauer turned in a huge performance in a 3-1 win on Tuesday. 

Vegas/Winnipeg (WPG 1-0)- The Jets largely dominated on the road against Vegas on Tuesday night and while the score is a little inflated with two empty-net goals, Winnipeg still would've won decisively. Vegas never really found their game, falling behind in the second period and never recovering.