Hurricanes Use Strong Third Period to Eliminate Islanders – Hockey Writers – NHL News
The Carolina Hurricanes got third period goals from Jack Drury and Stefan Noesen to break a 3-3 tie and defeat the New York Islanders 6-3, eliminating them from the 2024 NHL Playoffs.
Both teams scored three goals in the first four minutes of the game. Teuvo Teravainen and Andrei Svechnikov combined for two goals to open the contest for the Hurricanes, the fastest two goals to start a playoff game in franchise history. It was 20 seconds faster than the previous mark (3:33 in Game 6 of the 2002 conference semi-finals).
The Hurricanes' goals, separated by just eight seconds, were the fastest two goals in franchise history, surpassing the nine-second span in Game 2 of this series eight days ago. Carolina became the 22nd team in Stanley Cup Playoffs history to score two goals in eight seconds or less and the first since the Pittsburgh Penguins did so during Game 3 of the first round of the 2018 Playoffs (0:05).
Mike Reilly scored for the Islanders to make it 2-1 until Evgeny Kuznetsov scored on a penalty kick to give the Hurricanes a two-goal lead. A penalty was awarded when the Islanders' Alexander Romanov was whistled for blocking the puck in the crease.
The Islanders rallied in the second half with goals from Brock Nelson and Casey Cizikas to tie the score.
Seth Jarvis added an empty-netter to complete the scoring in the third.
Too Soon to Miss All the Playoffs
Before the game, head coach Rod Brind'Amour revealed that forward Jesper Fast, who was injured during the team's regular season win against the Columbus Blue Jackets, will not be able to play in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Fast played a big role in last year's postseason, getting not one but two overtime wins.
Related: 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs Round 1 Hub
In an unfortunate situation, it was initially believed that Fast would miss a few days. Now, after playing 73 of 82 games in the regular season, the Hurricanes will be without one of their most abused players.
The Hurricanes will face the New York Rangers in the second round of the NHL Playoffs. The Rangers just wrapped up their first round series against the Washington Capitals.
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