Chateau Islanders is batting a thousand. One for one after its first playoff game and a huge W it was! So what does it prove? UBS Arena sure knows how to win a playoff game. Hey, don't knock it, Chateau Islanders is batting a thousand. One for one after its first playoff game and a huge W it was! So what does it prove? I'll tell you: Home is where the heart is, and home is where the Islanders have turned an increasingly bitter series around. The 5-1 win last night was a series-turning point and rather deceptive in its arithmetic. We're talking about a 1-1 tie late in the third period before Kyle Palmieri exploded the deadlock with his power play tip-in at 16:10 as overtime was looming on the horizon. "It was a critical time," said Palmieri who's fast becoming his club's Mister Clutch. "We needed that." Nor did it hurt that Matt Martin provided the "sofa goal," easing breathing throughout the packed house as the scoreboard registered, 3-1. And bang-bang -- like a trip-hammer -- Scott Mayfield potted an open-netter and Anders Lee got a closed-netter. Poof! Just like that! The four goals in 2:18 proved to be the fastest quartet of red lights in NHL playoff history. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [gallery ids="5853,5854,5855,5856"] "We played our game the whole way through," smiled captain Lee. "We were solid all night." This was an all-Islanders production, from goalkeeper Ilya Sorokin's bounce-back effort -- 30 saves out of 31 shots -- to an A-plus performance by the fourth, all-energy line. As important as Martin's third-period counter was, it was matched in the "vital" category by Casey Cizikas' scoring the game's first goal in the middle frame. Make no mistake, this was not a simple win. For the third straight outing, Antti Raanta played a solid game in goal for the Canes, with 32 saves. But when the Isles raised their offensive level in the third period, they outshot the foe, 17-7, and the dam around Raanta eventually burst. Cizikas fully earned the game's first star with his all-round play but especially his goal in the middle frame. A seeing-eye backhand pass via D-man Noah Dobson had to be seen to be believed. Granted Jesper Fast's shorthanded tying goal was a solar plexus blow late in the second period. But the key here was the Isles bounce-back, relentless play throughout the final period. "We didn't shy away," added Cizikas. "We kept rolling four lines and kept going after them." Once again the Isles won the Hitting Derby, out-whacking the Canes 43-28. At times it appeared that they viewed every visiting player as if he was a shooting range target. It didn't hurt that the UBS noise level was a reasonable facsimile of the deafening roars at The Old Barn on Hempstead Turnpike. Martin, who should know, reported that there were times that UBS noise reached the Coli's decibel count. "The crowd was loud," allowed defenseman Ryan Pulock who, again, was a tower of strength on the blue line. "And we fed off their noise." Another major boost was the return of previously-injured defenseman Alex Romanov, who replaced rookie Samuel Bolduc. "I liked Romanov's game," said coach Lane Lambert, "He was poised with the puck and strong down low in the battles." The Nassaumen got a stirring perfect game out of the penalty killers while the offense got into Raanta's kitchen more than in the first pair of games. They made Carolina's netminder work more than he had to do in Raleigh. All in all the victory could herald a new day dawning for the Isles. This marked the first win over the Canes on home ice -- regular season and playoffs -- since November 2018. Plus the fact that the Nassaumen got the winner on its fifth power play attempt could mean that beyond the blue horizon of this win, awaits more PP goals. The return match in Elmont tomorrow afternoon figures to be as hard-fought as Game Three. Granted, the Hurricanes still lead the series two games to one, but it could be tied 2-2 by tomorrow night. "As this series goes deeper," warned Martin, "it will get nastier and a little rougher." Or, as the man behind the bench concluded, "We played hard." It's called playoff hockey, and it suits the Islanders just fine. Same for UBS, which will shoot for its second straight win hosting a postseason game! Not too bad for the two-year-old ice palace!
