The Carolina Hurricanes made their first two games of the Stanley Cup playoffs look easy in PNC Arena, but the real test was how the team would respond on the road. The Caniacs, who have been scarred by past shortcomings in road playoff matches, held their breath to see if this year’s roster was any different. They didn’t have to wait long.
Carolina traveled up to New York for its third game against the Islanders in the first round of the playoffs. An electric game 2 in Raleigh elevated momentum towards the Canes exponentially, and the win in UBS Arena put the team one step closer to sweeping its Metropolitan counterpart.
The first period saw a quick 2-0 lead for the Hurricanes and sent New York spiraling to play catch-up. Defenseman Brent Burns started the show for the Canes, rocketing off a wrist shot less than five minutes into the frame. Burns, who has averaged over 20 minutes of ice time in the playoffs so far, has been a crucial glue guy on defense for Carolina but made some offensive noise with his 23rd career playoff goal.
Despite having 15 shots on goal in the first period, the Islanders could not get past Canes netminder Frederik Andersen. Just a few days prior, Andersen finished the second game of the series with a .750 save percentage but he rebounded perfectly to finish game three with a .935.
The few Carolina fans in attendance didn’t have to wait long for another Hurricanes goal; halfway through the first frame and only five minutes after Burns lit the lamp, defenseman Dmitry Orlov snuck the puck past Islander’s goalie Ilya Sorokin. The veteran player has 84 playoff games under his belt and he used that experience to elevate the Hurricanes up 2-0 at the end of the first 20 minutes of play.
Even after the rough first period, the Islanders didn’t back down. New York came into the second frame with a vengeance — less than five minutes into the period, the Islanders got on the board with a goal from left-wing Pierre Engvall when he scored only his second career playoff goal. Now down by one goal, the comeback seemed easily attainable, but center Sebastian Aho had other plans.
Aho, who has been a force on offense all season, lined up a perfect wrist shot and fired the puck past Sorokin with 12 minutes left in the period. With their two-goal lead back, the Canes tried to settle in on the defensive end of the ice to ensure the hard-earned lead would not go to waste. Ten minutes later the Islanders brought the game to within one goal again; center Brock Nelson fired a shot in the late minutes of the period to bring the score to 3-2.
The third and final period was all about defense for Carolina. Holding onto a lead in the playoffs is never guaranteed, and the Canes didn’t want to lose this game. Throughout the final frame, the Hurricanes dished out seven hits across the ice and blocked nine shots to finish the game out strong and in the lead.
With a 3-0 series lead, the Canes look to sweep the series in game 4. The fourth matchup is scheduled for Saturday, April 27 at 2 p.m.
