THN.com/podcast. From THN On The 'A': AHL All-Star Teams, Ridly Greig and Hurricanes Sebastian Aho [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MTk3NTgxNzcyMTY1MjI3ODIx/usatsi_20524127.jpg] Sebastian Aho The Carolina Hurricanes are moving on to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. It took overtime in Game 6, but the Hurricanes beat the New York Islanders 2-1 to win their first-round series on Friday night. Paul Stastny scored the series-clinching goal. The Hurricanes won the first two games of the series 2-1 and 4-3, taking a commanding 2-0 series lead. But the Islanders responded at home in Game 3 with a statement 5-1 win. Carolina’s Sebastian Aho put up three points while call-up Mackenzie MacEachern chipped in a goal and an assist in a 5-2 Game 4 victory, putting the Islanders on the ropes. In Game 5, the Islanders did all they could to avoid an early playoff exit. Forward Pierre Engvall got the Islanders on the board in the first period and added a helper on Brock Nelson’s second-period goal to make it 2-0 Islanders. They hung on to a 3-2 win to force Game 6 back at home. On Friday, fourth-liner Cal Clutterbuck gave the Islanders a 1-0 lead 9:21 into the game with assists from Ryan Pulock and Casey Cizikas. The Islanders also survived two minor penalties later in the first frame, but they couldn’t capitalize on two power plays in the second period. New York outshot the Hurricanes 28-19 through two periods, but the Hurricanes were determined to make life easier for themselves and get this series done. They piled on 19 shots in the third period to the Islanders’ five. Nine minutes into the third, Carolina had possession of the puck in the Islanders zone. Canes defenseman Brett Pesce directed a shot on net that was going wide, but Carolina’s Aho batted the puck down with his glove and buried the puck in the net for a tie game. Nobody else could tickle the twine in regulation, so extra time was needed. It only took six minutes and one second for Canes fourth-line forward Paul Stastny to seal the Islanders’ fate. New York D-man Adam Pelech turned the puck over, and Derek Stepan kept the puck in the zone. He found Stastny to the left of Isles goaltender Ilya Sorokin by the goal line, and 37-year-old Stastny fired a shot that bounced off the right skate of Sorokin and in the net. It's admittedly a nightmarish goal for Sorokin to allow after a season that put him in the conversation for the Vezina Trophy, with a 2.34 goals-against average and .924 save percentage in 62 games. He was strong all series as well, posting a .923 save percentage in the first five games of the season and stopping 39 of 41 shots on Friday. But what's done is done. The Islanders head home in disappointment, while the Hurricanes won their third straight first-round series. Carolina will face the winner of the first-round showdown between the New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers.
