The New New York Islanders blew a three-goal lead, falling 5-3 Carolina Hurricanes, and now trail 2-0 in the series.

RALEIGH -- The New New York Islanders blew a three-goal lead, falling 5-3 Carolina Hurricanes, and now trail 2-0 in the series. 

They allowed the tying goal and the go-ahead goal in a matter of nine seconds. 

Here's how it happened: 

The Islanders were absolutely dominated to start the first period, going down 8-0 in shots.

That was until rookie Kyle MacLean dropped the gloves with Hurricanes forward Stefan Noesen:

After the scrap, the Islanders got their first shot on goal at the 13:33 mark of the first.

At 14:31 of the first, Mathew Barzal hooked Brett Pesce, but the referee caught the Hurricanes defender holding on to Barzal's stick as we got some 4-on-4 action.

That's when the Islanders beat the Hurricanes to the scoreboard. 

After Mike Reilly skated the puck into the zone, one of the few clean zone entries for New York in the opening twenty, he dropped the puck to Kyle Palmieri from below the goal line, who was sitting all alone in front of Hurricanes netminder Frederik Andersen.

Palmieri's first attempt didn't go in, but he kept working, eventually sneaking the puck in to give the Islanders a 1-0 lead at 16:22 of the first:

Brock Nelson was credited with the secondary assist.

Bo Horvat doubled the Islanders' lead to 2-0 at 19:45 of the first after he rifled home a one-timer from the slot, beating Andersen blocker side off a feed from Barzal:

Casey Cizikas earned the secondary assist.

Semyon Varlamov turned aside a rebound at the buzzer, as somehow, New York ended the first frame up 2-0, being outshot 10-7. 

Anders Lee made it 3-0 at 3:54 of the second on the power play after he tucked home a backhander at the crease:

Jean-Gabriel Pageau, in his return to the lineup, earned the primary assist, while Pierre Engvall recorded the secondary helper. 

The Islanders, like in the first, were dominated again, getting just three shots on goal after that Lee tally. 

Hurricanes defenseman Brett Pesce left the game at 10:24 of the second with a lower-body injury and did not return. 

The Hurricanes were able to get one back on the power play after Jake Guentzel jumped on a rebound and fed Teuvo Teravainen at the post for a tap-in at the 13:01 mark:

They hit a few posts and, in the final shift of the third, had a wide-open net after a post shot, but Noah Dobson got down to block it to preserve New York's two-goal lead.

The Hurricanes came out flying in the third, earning a power play at 4:32 after Cizikas tripped Hurricanes defenseman Dmitry Orlov.

The Islanders' penalty kill came up large, killing their third of four Hurricanes' power plays. 

At 10:43 of the third, Seth Jarvis beat Varlamov blocker side from inside the left circle to make it a 3-2 game:

The Islanders continued to be punished on the shot total, and their inability to find an ounce of their game allowed the Hurricanes to come all the way back.

Sebastian Aho tied the game at 17:45 of the third on a back-door tap-in, with Bo Horvat failing to block the pass.

Then, at 17:54 of the third, Jordan Martinook gave the Hurricanes a 4-3 lead. He banked the puck off Varlamov's left skate and in after Dobson failed to control the puck behind the net. 

Jake Guentzel scored the empty-net goal at 19:04 of the third, and that was the hockey game. 

"We didn't get the clears. It's simple," Lee said postgame. "We buried our chances early when we had them, and they kept coming at us like we expected. We just weren't able to break it tonight."

The Islanders had no answer, none whatsoever, and now have found themselves in a tremendous hole heading back home.

"We got to have a push back, and obviously, we weren't good enough tonight," Dobson said. "We got to find a way to be a lot better."
UP NEXT: The Islanders host the Hurricanes For Game Three at UBS Arena on Thursday night at 7:30 PM.

LINES: