2023 Postseason: Round 1, Game 3- Hurricanes at New York Islanders (CAR leads 2-0)

The series shifts to the island as the Hurricanes look to do something they haven't done in almost two years. Wednesday night's game was an extremely spirited tilt as the physicality ramped up, as did the goals. The Canes scored first again as Paul Stastny redirected a puck past Ilya Sorokin in the first few minutes. The Islanders would shoot themselves in the foot as Sebastian Aho, the other one, batted the puck out of mid-air and into his own net while short-handed to push the Canes' lead to 2-0. This really woke New York up as they played their best stretch of the series over the next 20 minutes. Kyle Palmieri and Mathew Barzal each scored in the final ten minutes of the second period and Brock Nelson gave them a lead in the third period to put the Canes against the wall. Jaccob Slavin would make the deficit short-lived as he scored from below the goal line with the help of Sorokin's head to tie the game. The two teams would fight to force overtime and in the extra session, Jesper Fast ended it to give the Canes a 2-0 series lead before hitting the road. Many were quick to point out the missed high-sticking call shortly before the goal but it didn't change the outcome. Tonight, we begin the first of two games on Long Island as the Islanders look to make it a series. The road hasn't been kind to the Canes during the playoffs over the last two seasons. They failed to win a road game in Boston or New York last season, going 0-6, and have only won two road games in their last four series (Game 6 at Nashville, Game 3 at Tampa Bay). A win here would go a long way in getting the Canes closer to the second round. 

Canes Lineup

Jack Drury-Sebastian Aho-Seth Jarvis

Stefan Noesen-Jesperi Kotkaniemi-Martin Necas

Jordan Martinook-Jordan Staal-Jesper Fast

Paul Stastny-Derek Stepan-Jesse Puljujarvi

Jaccob Slavin-Brent Burns

Brady Skjei-Brett Pesce

Shayne Gostisbehere-Jalen Chatfield

Injuries/Scratches/Extras- Teuvo Teravainen (broken hand), Frederik Andersen (illness), Mackenzie MacEachern (healthy), Calvin de Haan (healthy), Dylan Coghlan (healthy), Pyotr Kochetkov (healthy)

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

One of the major developments from Wednesday's game is that Teuvo Teravainen suffered a broken hand after taking a slash that went uncalled. It was severe enough to need surgery, so he'll be out for the next few weeks at least. This caused the team to bring up Mackenzie MacEachern to serve as the healthy extra as Jesse Puljujarvi makes his first appearance of the series. Frederik Andersen continues to battle an illness, so Pyotr Kochetkov will serve as the backup tonight. 

Starting Goalies

NYI- Ilya Sorokin (32 Saves, 4 GA in Game 2)

Compared to Game 1, Sorokin looked a little more human in Game 2. It's not just that he allowed four goals but it's the types of goals he allowed. The goal from his teammate caught him off guard, the Slavin goal was from an angle that pucks shouldn't go in from, and he probably overplayed the eventual game-winner. Still, he is heading back home where he went 20-10-3 and allowed less than two goals per game. 

CAR- Antti Raanta (23 Saves, 3 GA in Game 2)

While he didn't look as sharp as he did in Game 1, he did just enough to win in Game 2. He was beaten twice in the same spot under his glove and the goal from Palmieri might've been helped along by some interference. Still, he's got the team out to a 2-0 lead in the series, and for as good as he was at home during the season, he's been pretty good on the road. He went 8-3-2 with a 2.37 GAA. 

Scoring Summary

1st Period

None

2nd Period

(NYI) 12:49- Casey Cizikas (1) (assisted by Ryan Pulock (1))

(CAR) 16:56- Jesper Fast (2) SH (assisted by Jordan Staal (2))

3rd Period

(NYI) 16:10- Kyle Palmieri (2) PP (assisted by Sebastian Aho (1) & Jean-Gabriel Pageau (1))

(NYI) 16:54- Matt Martin (1) (assisted by Kyle Palmieri (2) & Scott Mayfield (1))

(NYI) 18:11- Scott Mayfield (1) EN (unassisted)

(NYI) 18:27- Anders Lee (1) (assisted by Casey Cizikas (1) & Ryan Pulock (2))

Let's Talk About the Game

That was a collapse of epic proportions. The Canes were so close to killing their fifth penalty of the night and it turned into four goals in 2:17 very quickly. Antti Raanta deserved better than he got tonight. For 56:09, Raanta looked phenomenal. He made some huge stops in the third period to keep the game 1-1 before the redirection on the power play in the final four minutes seemed to turn it all sideways. The Canes played a very strong first period on the road. While they didn't score a goal, they also didn't allow a goal. Both goalies played very well making sure that they didn't break first. The Canes killed the first penalty of the night and before the end of the period, they'd draw one that carried into the second period. They would ultimately be unsuccessful but they'd draw two more before the midway point in the period, both also killed by the Islanders. The ice would be broken by New York as Derek Stepan failed to clear a puck. Ryan Pulock kept the puck in the zone and slid it to Casey Cisikas for a one-timer at the side of the net that would go in. The Islanders thought they had a second one and even celebrated, but Seth Jarvis dove back to take it off of the line and keep it 1-0. Jesperi Kotkaniemi would be called for holding but it would be the Canes that found some offense. Jordan Staal and Jesper Fast found themselves on a 2-on-1 while short-handed and Fast would get the tying marker past Ilya Sorokin late in the period. The Canes had a few more chances before the end of the period but Sorokin wouldn't budge as we entered the third period tied at one. 

The third period very quickly turned into the Canes' penalty kill needing to come up big led by Raanta. They got the job done on an early penalty given to Derek Stepan in the first few minutes before killing a Jalen Chatfield at the midway point. During the Chatfield penalty, the Islanders were moving the puck exceptionally well but Raanta was up for the task with some huge stops. Raanta made one more incredible stop with a two-pad stack on Noah Dobson. With 14:10 left, Brady Skjei would be called for high-sticking, putting the kill back in action for the fifth time. The turning point came with 20 seconds left in the kill. New York won the draw and with one second left in the penalty, Kyle Palmieri redirected a shot that was going wide over the shoulder of Raanta to give the Islanders the lead with 4:10 left. This opened the dam for New York. Matt Martin scored 44 seconds later. Scott Mayfield found the empty net 77 seconds later and Anders Lee added insult to injury with a redirection 16 seconds after that to make it 5-1. What once looked like a solid defensive game turned into a rout. After some pleasantries being traded in the final minutes, the horn mercifully sounded as New York scored their first win in the series. 

If we're being honest, the Canes didn't deserve this win with how they played in the third period. New York outshot them 17-7 in the final 20 minutes and while some of that is a little inflated with the final few minutes, it was pure domination from the Islanders to close it. Raanta was very good tonight and though his final line will show that he allowed four goals, it won't show how many huge stops he made to keep the team in it before the Palmieri goal. The Staal line seems to be the only line that is finding any kind of success on offense, which isn't going to bode well for the Canes' chances if they plan on winning this series. It's time for Sebastian Aho and Martin Necas to take over. It's time for Kotkaniemi, Seth Jarvis, and the rest of the offense to show up. Only scoring one goal and asking your goalie and penalty kill to be perfect is a terrible recipe for success. The road curse continues and what looked like it was going to be a promising game turned sour quickly. They'll have a chance to turn it around on Sunday afternoon because 3-1 heading back to Raleigh is a lot more promising than 2-2. 

Canes' Three Stars of the Game

Third Star- Brent Burns (1 Shot, 1 Hit)

His final statline looks very unremarkable but it doesn't show just how strong of a game he had. He was only credited with one shot, one hit, and one block tonight. Still, his stick was all over the ice to break up passes and entry attempts. He logged over five minutes on the penalty kill and was a big part of their four successful kills. 

Second Star- Jordan Staal (Assist)

His line was easily the best of the night and they were rewarded, albeit while short-handed. Staal had a team-high six hits to go along with two shots and a block but the assist is the big part of the game. He slid a pass perfectly to Fast on a 2-on-1 and it resulted in more magic for the two. You could probably argue the only bad part of his night was losing the draw before the go-ahead goal on the kill. 

First Star- Jesper Fast (Goal)

In terms of timeliness, Fast has scored the two biggest goals of the postseason for the Canes. He's scored the last two for the team too. Fast picked up where he left off on Wednesday night with the team's only goal tonight on the kill. He led the team tonight with five shots and added four hits to a strong 200-foot game for the third line. 

Around the League

Boston/Florida (BOS 2-1)- The Bruins went on the road and got the job done against the Panthers to take a lead in the series again. Boston jumped ahead 4-0, chasing Lyon after the third goal, before Florida fought back, eventually losing 4-2. 

Toronto/Tampa Bay (Tied 1-1)- Toronto returned the favor in Game 2 after being embarrassed in Game 1. Tavares recorded a hat trick and Marner added two goals as the Leafs put up seven goals of their own on Vasilevskiy to tie the series before heading to Tampa. 

New Jersey/New York (R) (NYR 2-0)- The Rangers loved how they played so much in Game 1 that they replicated it in Game 2. The Devils scored the first goal of the game before the Rangers scored five unanswered, including two more goals from Kreider as New York took a 2-0 series lead with a 5-1 win. 

Dallas/Minnesota (Tied 1-1)- Hintz recorded a hat trick in Game 2 to make Minnesota pay for putting out Fleury instead of Gustavsson in a 7-3 victory. Minnesota holds a 1-0 lead in Game 3 after the first period as they look to take the first game in St. Paul. 

Edmonton/Los Angeles (Tied 1-1)- Edmonton avoided another meltdown in Game 2, getting two goals in the third period to even the series with a 4-2 victory. The tensions are very high in Game 3 as the Oilers and Kings are scoreless in the first period. 

Colorado/Seattle (Tied 1-1)- The way the Avalanche fell behind in Game 2 made it look like Seattle was about to go up 2-0 in the series. Instead, Colorado erased a 2-0 deficit with three unanswered goals, capped off by a goal from to win 3-2 to even the series. 

Vegas/Winnipeg (Tied 1-1)- It took some time but Vegas eventually found their game and the offense finally came with it. Eichel scored his first postseason goal in the second period and Stone scored twice in the third period as the Golden Knights cruised to a 5-2 victory in Game 2.