With the game tied at one in the third period, four goals in 2:18 gave the New York Islanders a 5-1 lead, as they cut their series deficit to 2-1.
ELMONT, NY -- With the game tied at one in the third period, four goals in 2:18 gave the New York Islanders a 5-1 lead, as they cut their series deficit to 2-1.
LINES:
Anders Lee-Bo Horvat-Simon Holmstrom
Pierre Engvall-Brock Nelson-Kyle Palmieri
Zach Parise-Jean-Gabriel Pageau-Hudson Fasching
Matt Martin-Casey Cizikas-Cal Clutterbuck
Adam Pelech-Scott Mayfield
Alexander Romanov-Ryan Pulock
Sebastian Aho-Noah Dobson
Ilya Sorokin
Semyon Varlamov
Rapid Recap:
Game 3 started off with a bang, literally, as defenseman Scott Mayfield trucked Jack Drury inside the Carolina blue line.
After a back-and-forth first, with the Hurricanes doing more of the in-zone possessing, the Islanders got a power play after not getting one on Wednesday night as Casey Cizikas was hooked by Shayne Gostisbehere.
On the ensuing power play, the Islanders recorded two shots, with the biggest chance -- a Brock Nelson one-timer -- sailing wide.
Sorokin was sharp, while his team was not, stopping all 14 that came his way, including prime stops on Brent Burns and Sebastian Aho.
With 33 seconds to play in the first, Kyle Palmieri was called for an offensive-zone hook.
The Hurricanes got two shots on goal with the man advantage before the period ended, with Sorokin having to sprawl in his crease to keep a chance out before a teammate cleared the puck down.
The Islanders were pinned early and often. What didn't help was their struggles in the face-off dot, winning seven of 22 draws (32 percent).
The Islanders, with the help of Hurricane inaccuracy, killed off the penalty.
Bo Horvat's line continued to garner offensive zone chances but all of them went by the boards.
The Islanders found themselves on the kill two more times in the period -- a Mayfield hook and a Pelech trip -- but killed both off to remain perfect (3/3) through two periods.
For the first time this series, the Islanders did get that elusive first goal as after Ryan Pulock kept the puck in the offensive zone, he waited before finding Casey Cizikas at the back post at 12:49 of the second.
The Islanders had momentum for the first time all game and after a strong shift by the Jean-Gabriel Pageau line, it seemed the Islanders had doubled their lead, but a bouncing puck was kept off the goal line by Seth Jarvis and Raanta.
After a dominant shift by the Horvat line, the Islanders found themselves back on the power play.
Unfortunately for New York, a Barzal turnover allowed the Hurricanes to get on an odd-man rush with just Noah Dobson back to defend.
Jordan Staal found Fast, the overtime hero back on Wednesday, but Sorokin slid over to deny the chance. However, the puck snuck behind him, and as Nelson tried to save the day, he sent the puck into his own net as Fast gets the credit.
That shorthanded goal for Carolina tied the game at one with 3:04 to play in the second.
Pageau and his linemates put together a strong shift to start the third after a lackluster finish to the second period.
The Islanders did earn another power play as Cal Clutterbuck was flipped deep in the Hurricane zone a tad over three minutes into the third.
Clutterbuck left the ice, likely due to a concussion spotter.
However, the power play failed to create any chances despite some solid puck movement.
With just under 14 minutes to play in the third, Pierre Engvall sprung Nelson on a breakaway, but his five-hole attempt was denied by Raanta.
The Islanders earned their fourth power play of the game after Jalen Chatfield pulled Pageau down -- another missed opportunity.
With 5:50 to play in the third, the Islanders found themselves on the power play for the fifth time, the whistle coming right after Raanta stacked the pads to rob Dobson.
As the saying goes, fifth time's a charm as Palmieri deflected an Aho point shot to give New York a 3-32 lead with 3:51 to play in the third.
Forty-four seconds later, Matt Martin scored short side to give the Islanders a 3-1 lead after a quick feed by Palmieri.
The Islanders added another two goals in 16 seconds as Mayfield added an empty-netter while Lee scored in-tight with 1:33 remaining to wrap Game 3.
WHAT'S NEXT: The New York Islanders host the Carolina Hurricanes Sunday afternoon at UBS Arena for Game 4. Puck drop is slated for 1 PM ET.