ELMONT, N.Y. — A hot New York Islanders team sought to gain pivotal points against a consistent and strong Carolina Hurricanes team to continue their homestand heater. On Friday night, Carolina shook up their team, trading away Martin Necas and Jack Drury and receiving Mikko Rantanen and Taylor Hall in return. The Islanders also had a lineup change, adding defenseman Tony DeAngelo to their team at the league minimum contract price.
The first shift of the game ended in Islanders’ defenseman Ryan Pulock heading to the locker room after an odd hit against the boards: not a positive start for the New York team. In the first five minutes of the game, the Islanders’ defensive core was doing well to match against the strong offensive pressure presented by Carolina. However, a stellar stretch pass by Jesperi Kotkaniemi from the Carolina zone to Roslovic ended with the puck in the net, giving Carolina a one goal lead.
Shortly after the Hurricanes’ goal, the aggressive forecheck by Carolina seemingly caught the Islanders’ defense off guard. A poor defensive zone play allowed a centering pass from Canes’ Sebastian Aho to deflect off of Isaiah George’s skate and into the Islanders’ net. Carolina continued to look calm and calculated in the offensive zone with a two-goal lead.
A fight between Jean-Gabriel (J.G.) Pageau and Kotkaniemi fired up the Long Island crowd and gave the Islanders a two-minute power play. Despite not being able to convert on the man advantage, a strong pass by Marcus Hogberg up the ice created a good look for Alexander Romanov, whose shot deflected off Sean Walker and past Pyotr Kochetkov, cutting the Hurricanes’ lead to one goal.
The Islanders did not get much momentum following the goal and the first period ended with the Hurricanes up 2-1.
Carolina had a strong start to a rather uneventful second period. A Carolina power play created some cause for concern for New York—who were 32nd in the league on the penalty kill—but they were able to come out unscathed. A good try for Casey Cizikas was shot wide but gave the Isles a bit of momentum. Back in the Islanders’ zone, a shot by Rantanen got through Hogberg’s legs but Adam Pelech subbed in as goaltender behind him to save the day. Carolina’s Aho took a penalty for high-sticking to end the second.
The Islanders, looking to continue their three-game win streak, needed a stronger offensive third period and had the chance with the power play. Although neither team could create any truly strong chances, a poor high stick by Brent Burns gave the Islanders an offensive zone face off. A shot from Bo Horvat was saved by Kochetkov, but the rebound was tipped up over the pad by Anders Lee to tie the game at two apiece. Carolina continued to pressure the Islanders and created more offensive chances than New York in the last half of the third, but were unable to secure a lead. The remainder of regulation saw both goaltenders, but Hogberg especially, standing strong, and ended in a tie.
Due to an injury, Ilya Sorokin took the net for the Islanders at the start of overtime. The Hurricanes began overtime with the puck but it was stolen by Mat Barzal and taken into the Carolina zone. Carolina was able to get control back and a good chance was stopped by Sorokin. A centering feed got intercepted by Kyle Palmieri, who passed over to Brock Nelson. Nelson skated his way up the ice and looked as though he would pass back to Palmieri, but instead he shot over Kochetkov’s shoulder, winning the game in overtime.
The Islanders achieved their first four-game win streak of the season and look to end their homestand on a positive note against the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday, January 28.
