The Carolina Hurricanes rallied back from a three-goal deficit to take down the New York Islanders last night, winning 5-3 and pulling ahead to a 2-0 series lead.
Despite a pretty good start in the first 10 minutes of the opening frame, the Hurricanes ended up getting themselves into a hole with three goals given up between the end of the first period and first few minutes of the second frame. The Hurricanes just looked off, and weren't winning the offensive zone battles we're used to seeing them win.
They got one back from Teuvo Teravainen on a power play though – and that's around the point where the Hurricanes really came alive. Essentially, the entire back half of the game was spent in New York’s end, as Carolina pressed to claw their way back into the game.
Then midway through the third period, Seth Jarvis managed to bring the Hurricanes back to within one, ripping a great shot over Semyon Varlamov. Outshooting the Islanders 17-1 in the final frame, Carolina kept coming from there, and in the final minutes with the goalie pulled, not only did Sebastian Aho tie the game in-close, but only nine seconds after tying it, Jordan Martinook won a battle on the forecheck and tucked it past Varlamov, giving the Hurricanes their first lead. An empty netter followed from there, with the Hurricanes walking away with a massive 5-3 comeback win, in a game that's destined to be remembered for a long time.
Key stories and notes from the game are below, but for a full game recap (given I also cover the Islanders here), it can be viewed below.
- ARTICLE: Islanders blow 3-goal lead to collapse in Game 2, fall behind 2-0 in series
Huge Second Half
There was a stretch of about 10-15 minutes from the end of the first period to near the midway mark of the second period where things looked pretty bleak for Carolina. They weren't sustaining a ton of zone time, and the jump they had to start the game was gone.
However, they were able to draw some penalties midway through the second frame, and after Teravainen was able to get the Hurricanes on the board, that’s where momentum really shifted. Across the second and third period, Carolina outshot the Islanders by a massive 27-5 margin and never let their foot off the gas. Almost the entire back half of that game was played in the Islanders’ end, and it’s a big showing on the Hurricanes to stay in it and battle back from the three-goal deficit.
The second half of that game shows how dangerous the Hurricanes can be, after about four and a half periods to start the series where Carolina wasn’t at their best.
Svechnikov plays on the top line
In a bit of a surprise, the Hurricanes opted to go with Andrei Svechnikov on the top line and Seth Jarvis on the third line, starting with the combinations they had to end Game 1. It seemed likely Carolina would ultimately go back to Guentzel-Aho-Jarvis, but it’s hard to argue with the results of swapping Svechnikov/Jarvis.
The top line with Svechikov on it outshot opponents 8-0 at 5-on-5, while the third line outshot opponents 11-1, according to NaturalStatTrick.com. We can expect the Hurricanes to keep things as is for Game 3.
Everyone chipping in offensively
Last season, with all the injuries and the lack of depth, Carolina really didn’t have many forwards to turn to for their offense. This time around, that’s not the case.
The Hurricanes have eight goals this series, scored by eight different members of the forward group. It’s shown that when one line isn’t clicking for a stretch, the team has other ways to get their offense, and so far, 13 of their 18 skaters have already registered a point in the first two games. It provides a bit of confidence that the Hurricanes aren’t going to have the same scoring issues as the postseason continues.
Brett Pesce injured
Maybe the one real negative from the game was Brett Pesce suffering a lower-body injury and leaving the game. While we don’t have any real clarity, Rod Brind’Amour noted post-game that the injury was ‘not looking good.’
While Pesce maybe hasn’t had the best year of his career, his impact within the top-four group alongside Brady Skjei remains significant. If Pesce misses extended time, we’re talking about a massive blow to Carolina’s defense group.
Jalen Chatfield has proven he’s able to step up to the task, and he can likely fill in for Pesce with strong results. However, it means someone else is coming back into the lineup, likely Tony DeAngelo, which is a little more concerning. At that point, running an Orlov-DeAngelo bottom pairing seems like the team could be setting itself up for failure, and even in a scenario where the Hurricanes try to limit minutes for whoever comes in, Pesce’s absence would put a lot more pressure on the remaining top defensemen.
Other Notes
- Evgeny Kuznetsov has been good through his first two games of the playoffs. He was controlling the puck and showcased a series of flashy moves – the center looks poised to make more of an impact.
- Dmitry Orlov looked great at times last night as well. He was skating with the puck more for entries and was more active in the offensive zone.
- I should probably stop referring to the Martinook/Staal combination as the ‘third line’ – the group, whether with Svechnikov or Jarvis, has been used much more than the Teravainen-Kotkaniemi-Necas line at even strength.
- It wasn’t Frederik Andersen’s best night, so we’ll see what the Hurricanes do in goal. Getting Pyotr Kochetkov into playoff action sooner than later isn’t a bad move, but one shaky night in a win also doesn’t warrant taking Andersen out on a performance-based decision.
So with the victory, the Hurricanes have an excellent shot to take a stranglehold on the series going back to New York. Taking even one of the road games would set them up to end the series quickly, and following the massive comeback, Carolina has all the momentum in the world.
Game 3 takes place on Thursday.
OTHER ARTICLES FROM THE PLAYOFFS
- Hurricanes enter playoffs as a force in the East
- Takeaways from Hurricanes’ Game 1 win over Islanders
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