Hurricanes advance to second round with more third period magic in Game 5 win over Islanders

Sometimes in hockey and especially playoff hockey, you need luck on your side. In Game 5, the Carolina Hurricanes got two lucky bounces in the third period for a 6-3 win at PNC Arena over the New York Islanders to advance to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

On the eventual game-winner, defenseman Brady Skjei had his shot deflected off Islanders defenseman Alexander Romanov and went right to center Jack Drury. With New York caught off guard by the odd bounce, Drury slotted a shot past the blocker of goaltender Semyon Varlamov for a 4-3 lead.

Just eight seconds later, right wing Stefan Noesen scored after the puck took a weird bounce off the boards. Carolina won the faceoff from center ice and Skjei threw the puck in deep as it hit the boards. Instead of circling behind the goal like it usually does, it ricocheted right in front of the net with Varlamov out of position, leaving a wide-open net for Noesen.

While the bounces were somewhat lucky, the Hurricanes forced the issue in the third period and were rewarded. On Drury’s goal, he won the faceoff in the defensive zone and then was in the right spot to score and Noesen beat everyone down the ice and was the first to the puck on his goal.

“Definitely some fortuitous bounces,” Skjei said. “But our strategy that we always talk about is trying to get pucks to the net and obviously, some crazy stuff can happen and that's what happened there on a couple of goals.”

It looked like the Hurricanes wouldn’t need third-period dramatics after a dominant first period where they outshot the Islanders 21-4 and scored three goals. NC State men’s basketball coach Kevin Keatts sounded the siren before the first period and the Canes fed off that energy with two goals in just over three minutes into the period.

Left wing Teuvo Teravainen opened up the scoring just over a minute in and right wing Andrei Svechnikov got his first goal of the playoffs two minutes later. It was only a matter of time before Svechnikov scored as he’d been the best player on the ice for the majority of the series.

The power forward came out buzzing in Game 1 after missing all of last year’s playoffs and kept his foot on the pedal the entire series. He laid out hits, won nearly every puck battle, and created chance after chance.

“He was phenomenal,” said head coach Rod Brind’Amour. “It just felt like every time he was on the ice he was a force. It’s a good sign and if he keeps playing like that he’s gonna get some goals. I thought he was our best player really throughout the five games.”

On the final goal of the first 20 minutes, the Caniacs finally got to witness center Evgeny Kuznetsov’s legendary “Kuzy Crawl.” Carolina was rewarded a penalty shot after New York defenseman Alexander Romanov illegally covered the puck in the crease.

With PNC Arena raised to its feet, Kuznetsov slowly made his way to center ice to retrieve the puck and then lulled Varlamov to sleep approaching the net even slower, waiting for the goaltender to react. As soon as Varlamov tried to poke-check Kuznetsov, he fired the puck past him in the back of the net.

“We know how nasty he is,” said center Seth Jarvis. “We’ve seen him do it to us a few times. So to see it work for us, in a moment like that, was absolutely massive.”

Since being traded to the Hurricanes, Kuznetsov has had to take on a smaller role than he’s used to as a fourth-line center. Despite spending less time on the ice, he has embraced his role on the Stanley Cup favorite.

“Been playing for a long time and always playing 15 to 20 minutes and it’s not easy having a different role,” Kuznetsov said. “Sometimes that is what it takes. At the end of the day, it's not about who’s scoring the goals, it's about if we can execute our roles and work for each other and get those good wins.”

After a dominant first period from the Canes, the Islanders responded with two goals in the second period to tie the game. New York was the aggressor for most of the middle 20 minutes and also had some luck when goaltender Frederik Andersen lost his footing, leaving a wide-open net for the game-tying goal.

Carolina came out with energy in the final period after not playing up to its standard in the second, leading to two goals eight seconds apart to seal the series. Breaking the franchise record it set in Game 2 when it scored two goals nine seconds apart.

The Hurricanes have won four of the 16 games they need and will now head to Madison Square Garden to take on the President’s Trophy-winning New York Rangers. The Rangers are red-hot, coming off a series sweep over the Washington Capitals. The Canes will have their hands full as they enter the second round.

“The Rangers are the best team in the league, right?,” Brind’Amour said. “We know what they’re all about. They have immense talent, are coached really well, and have good goaltending. What don’t they have? We know it’s going to be a tough matchup, but it would be anywhere. You’re getting down into the final eight; they’re all going to be tough.”

The Canes most recently faced the Rangers in the 2022 playoffs, where they lost the series in seven games. In that hard-fought series, both teams displayed resilience and skill, with several games going into overtime. Despite the Canes’ strong efforts, they ultimately fell short and will seek revenge this time around. The series is set to be a marquee matchup between two teams that combined for 225 total regular season points.

New York was 2-1 against the Hurricanes in the regular season. The Rangers won 2-1 on Nov. 2 and 1-0 on March 12, and lost 6-1 on Jan.2. Times and dates have yet to be announced for the series.