With a chance to even their first round series last night in Game 2, the New York Islanders blew a three-goal lead, on route to a 5-3 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes.
The one lineup change for New York came with Jean-Gabriel Pageau coming back into the lineup, after missing Game 1. Kyle MacLean moved back down to the fourth line as a result, while Simon Holmstrom moved up to play on the second line, and Hudson Fasching was a scratch.
Carolina came out hot with the first few chances of the game, attacking with speed and leaving the Islanders without a shot for the first two-thirds of the opening period. A big hit from Jesperi Kotkaniemi on Cal Clutterbuck brought the crowd into the game, and we saw a heavyweight fight between Kyle MacLean and Stefan Noesen in the back half of the period.
However, with some 4-on-4 hockey late in the period, Mike Reilly used his speed to cut to the net and put a pass out front to an open Kyle Palmieri, who was able to stuff the puck past Frederik Andersen before he could cover it, opening the scoring.
Adam Pelech took a tripping penalty shortly after (on another call that really seemed to be questionable), but it was Bo Horvat who had the best chance shorthanded, going in all alone on a breakaway where he was denied by Andersen.
However, after New York killed off the penalty, Casey Cizikas was able to win a puck battle on the forecheck with only about 15 seconds to go in the period, and Mathew Barzal got a pass out to Horvat, who was able to beat Andersen to put the Islanders up 2-0.
So similar to Game 1, the Hurricanes came out strong, but New York came alive later – the difference being that this time, the Islanders held a multi-goal lead through 20 minutes.
Carolina did have a great chance to get back into the game early in the second period when Sebastian Aho got a shot off from in-close all alone, but he rang it off the post. Then shortly after, with the Islanders on a power play, Anders Lee managed to tuck a puck past Andersen on a power play in close, giving New York a commanding 3-0 lead.
The Islanders got into penalty trouble from there though, and while they did a great job killing off another penalty later in the frame where they didn’t give up much at all, they got burned on the second Hurricanes’ power play of the frame. After a rebound popped down to Jake Guentzel, the winger fed it over to Teuvo Teravainen at the side of the net who had a wide open cage to score on, getting the Hurricanes on the board.
Carolina had a ton of jump from there, with much of the last few minutes of the period spent in the Islanders’ end and Seth Jarvis both hitting a post, and having a shot blocked on a great play by Noah Dobson. But despite the Islanders being outshot 24-11 through 40 minutes, they took a 3-1 lead to intermission.
The Hurricanes picked up right where they left off in the third period with more pressure though, and drew a penalty on a trip from Casey Cizikas, but once again, the Islanders were able to kill off a key Hurricanes' power play.
But New York still generated nothing in the way of offense after killing the penalty, going half the period without another shot. Then right around the midway mark of the frame, Seth Jarvis beat Varlamov with a great shot, cutting the lead to one.
It did look like the Islanders may have reinstated the lead shortly after off a tip from Kyle MacLean on a redirected point shot, but it was called off immediately, and determined to be a high-stick.
Carolina never let up, and as they continued to press in the final minutes with the net empty, Andrei Svechnikov put a puck to the net, where Sebastin Aho was there to tip it past Varlamov, tying the game.
That didn’t mark the end of New York’s troubles, and only nine seconds later, Jordan Martinook won a battle against Noah Dobson on the forecheck and tucked the puck past an unsuspecting Varlamov, giving Carolina their first lead of the game.
While the Islanders tried to pull their goalie to even it back up from there, Jake Guentzel swiftly buried an empty netter, leaving the Islanders stunned after a complete and utter collapse, falling 5-3 for a 2-0 series deficit.
Don’t know exactly where to go with this analysis. The same issue that plagued the Islanders to an unbelievable extent in the regular season ended up costing them in Game 2. No lead is safe with this team.
Around the midway mark of the second period, they just stopped trying to make anything happen. Nobody was carrying the puck up ice, there was nobody trying to generate offense, they were just completely on their heels. When you get outshot 28-5 in the final 40 minutes, obviously, it’s rarely going to go your way no matter how big of a lead you’ve built.
There were flashes in Game 1 where the Islanders got stuck in their own end for periods of time, but that increased tenfold in the back half of Game 2. It felt like pretty much the entire second half of the game was spent in New York’s end.
Obviously, with extended defensive zone time and tired players comes penalties as well. The Islanders gave up five power plays, and while they did a good job on the penalty kill overall, the penalties allowed Carolina to get going, and work their way back into the game.
You could find positives from maybe a 10 or 15 minute stretch between the end of the first period and first bit of the second period, but there’s just not much at all to build off. The team’s top three lines were outshot 26-2 at 5-on-5, according to NaturalStatTrick.com.
I don’t know how they come back from this to win their home games, with all momentum completely sunk coming out of Game 2. They had a perfect opportunity to even the series, and go back to New York with a chance to take a commanding lead. Now, not only did they fall behind 2-0, but they did so in the worst way possible.
The Islanders have a break until Thursday, as they return home for Game 3.
OTHER ARTICLES FROM APRIL
- Islanders must bounce back for biggest game of season vs. Flyers
- Islanders stay alive after sweeping back-to-back set
- Islanders' playoff chances continue to improve with win over Blue Jackets
- Islanders shut out Predators, control their own playoff destiny
- Islanders hold on to beat Rangers for fifth straight win
- Isles closing in on playoff berth, but Dobson injury a reason for concern
- Islanders clinch playoff spot, set for Round 1 rematch vs. Hurricanes
- Previewing Round 1: Islanders vs. Hurricanes
- Islanders come up short in Game 1, fall 3-1 to Hurricanes
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