Eastern Conference Round 1, Game 2
Carolina 5, Isles 3
Carolina Leads Series 2-0
Sebastian Aho and Jordan Martinook scored the tying and lead goal in a nine-second span late in the third period and Jake Guentzel added an empty net goal as the Carolina Hurricanes took a 2-0 lead in their Round 1 playoff series with a 5-3 victory over the Isles before a sellout crowd of 18,905 at PNC Arena.
The Isles had built a 3-0 lead with goals from Kyle Palmieri, Bo Horvat and Anders Lee in a 7:32 span straddling the first and second periods; Teuvo Teravainen scored midway through the 2nd period and Seth Jarvis scored midway through the 3rd period to set the stage for the Canes to tie and win the game late in the third period.
It is the first time in Islander history that they lost a playoff game after leading by three goals at any point (81-1).
The series shifts to Long Island for games Thursday night (7:30) and Saturday afternoon (2:00).
The Scoring:
1st Period
Kyle Palmieri (1) Mike Reilly (1), Brock Nelson (1) 16:22 NYI 1,CAR 0
Bo Horvat (1) Mathew Barzal (1), Casey Cizikas (1) 19:45 NYI 2,CAR 0
2nd Period
Anders Lee (1) Jean-Gabriel Pageau (1), Pierre Engvall (1) 03:54 NYI 3,CAR 0 PPG
Teuvo Teravainen (1) Jake Guentzel (1), Seth Jarvis (1) 13:01 NYI 3,CAR 1 PPG
3rd Period
Seth Jarvis (1) Jordan Staal (1), Brady Skjei (3) 10:43 NYI 3,CAR 2
Sebastian Aho (1) Andrei Svechnikov (1), Seth Jarvis (2) 17:45 NYI 3,CAR 3
Jordan Martinook (1) Jack Drury (2) 17:54 NYI 3,CAR 4
Jake Guentzel (1)EN Sebastian Aho (1), Andrei Svechnikov (2) 19:04 NYI 3,CAR 5
The Series
Game 1: Carolina 3, Isles 1
Game 2: Carolina 5, Isles 3
Game 3: Thursday at Isles 7:30
Game 4: Saturday at Isles 2:00
Game 5: (if needed) April 30 at Carolina
Game 6: (if needed) May 2 at Isles
Game 7: (if needed) May 4 at Carolina
The Skinny
The Isles led after the first period for only the 3rd time in their last 28 playoff games (2023 R1 games 5/6)... Attempts ended 110-28…The Isles did not get a shot on goal until 13:22 was played; they had only one shot on goal in the final 34:57…The Isles have been outscored 6-0 in the third period in the series, including two empty net goals…Sebastian Aho is now 7-5-12 in 12 playoff games against the Isles…The game-winning goal was Jordan Martinook's first goal in ten playoff games against the Isles…Mathew Barzal's assist was his first in nine playoff games…Bo Horvat has 13 goals in 31 playoff games…Kyle MacLean had a potential goal waved off in the third period on a high-stick…Jake Guentzel received a misconduct late in the game for the first time in his career, regular season or playoffs… Brady Skjei now has nineteen career playoff points.
The Injury
Brett Pesce left the game in the second period with a lower-body injury and did not return.
Rewriting the Playoff Record Books
• It is the first time that the Isles lost a game they had a three-goal lead at any point.
• The 2 goals in :09 is the fastest in Canes history and matches the fastest two vs. the Isles (Montreal 1993). It was the fastest in any playoff game since 2018, when Pittsburgh scored twice in :05 in Game 3 vs. Philadelphia to tie the Stanley Cup record.
• The 3 goals in 1:19 are the fastest for the Canes and the fastest against the Isles.
• The Isles blocked a club record 36 shots (since 2001).
• Alex Romanov blocked 8 shots, to tie Calvin de Haan's club record (4-22-2016 vs. Florida).
• The Isles allowed four goals in the third period for only the 2nd time in club history – and they won the other game (5/8/1993 vs PIT; led 2-1 after 2 and won 6-5).
• It is the 7th time in Stanley Cup history that a team has scored the tying and winning goals in the final three minutes of regulation; Carolina also did it to New Jersey in Game 7 in 2009.
First Time in a Long Time (Playoffs)
• The Isles had only 12 shots on goal; it is their fewest since they had a club-record 11 in Game 7 in Washington in 2015.
• The Isles allowed four goals in a period for the first time since April 18, 1994, at Rangers.
• The Isles had 62 penalty minutes in the third period (60 in the final minutes); it is the 2nd-most in club history (4/17/1980 at Boston)
• The Isles had 75 penalty minutes in the game. It is the third-highest in club history (1975 vs. NYR, 1980 at Boston).
• Frederik Andersen is the first goaltender to be the only goalie for his team, make fewer than nine saves, and earn the win since Evgeni Nabokov did so for San Jose, on April 15, 2008, at Calgary.
Pulock the Playoff Scorer
Ryan Pulock is 5th among Islander defensemen in career playoff goals:
1. Denis Potvin 56
2. Ken Morrow 11
3. Mike McEwen 9
Tomas Jonsson 9
5. Ryan Pulock 8
The four players ahead of him share 14 Stanley Cup rings with the Islanders.
Pulock the Playoff Hitter
In regular season play, Ryan Pulock averages 1.7 hits (802 hits in 486 games). In the playoffs, Pulock has 180 hits in 63 games (2.9 per game), and he holds the Isles career record (real-time era) for playoff hits by a defenseman.
Most Hits by an Isles Defenseman (Playoffs, since 2007)
• Johnny Boychuk 10 4/23/2015 @ WSH
• Ryan Pulock 9 4/17/2023@ CAR
• Ryan Pulock 8 5/16/2021@ PIT
• Ryan Pulock 8 5/20/2021vs PIT
The Goals (Series)
Isles 3-1-0=4
Carolina 1-1-6=8
The Shots (Series)
Isles 15-17-14=46
Carolina 17-18-30=65
Led/Tied/Trailed
Game 1: Led: 0:00, Tied: 36:49, Trailed: 23:01
Game 2: Led 41:23, Tied: 16:31, Trailed: 2:06
Series: Led: 41:23, Tied: 53:20, Trailed: 25:07
Playoffs All-Time
The Isles are 174-147 in 321 all-time playoff games. They are 97-55 at home (88-44 at the Coliseum, 2-5 at Barclays, 5-2 in Toronto, 1-2 in Edmonton and 1-2 at UBS Arena) and 77-92 on the road. In this year's playoffs, the Isles are 0-0 at home and 0-2 on the road.
Offense from Defense
• Today: 0-2-2
• Playoffs 0-2-2
Home is Where the Fans Are
The Isles have played 122 regular season games at UBS Arena and recorded 89 sellouts of 17,255. The Isles have sold out 3 playoff games as well.
Overtime is Our Time
The Isles are 40-24 (.645) all-time in overtime, including 20-14 at home. The Isles went 0-2 in overtime in 2023; they have gone 11-11 in 22 overtime games since 2015.
(all stats below exclude Seattle)
The Isles are the best overtime team in Stanley Cup history:
• Isles 40-24 .625
• Anaheim 24-15 .615
• Carolina 30-19 .612
• Florida 12-8 .600
• Ottawa 22-16 .579
• Colorado 46-34 .575
The Isles are also one of the best teams on the road in Stanley Cup history:
• Florida 9-4 .692
• Isles 20-10 .667
• Tampa Bay 14-7 .667
• Anaheim 15-8 .652
• Colorado 26-15 .634
• Carolina 14-9 .609
The Isles' winning percentage is tied-5th at home in overtime games
• Carolina 16-10 .615
• Chicago 30-18-1 .612
• Buffalo 20-13 .606
• Montreal 46-29-1 .605
• Isles 20-14 .588
• Ottawa 10-7 .588
Overtime vs. Carolina
The Isles are 0-3 all-time in playoff overtime games vs. Carolina:
4/26/19 Vs Jordan Staal L (0-1) 04:04 (Brooklyn)
4/19/23 @ Jesper Fast L (3-4) 05:03
4/28/23 Vs Paul Stastny L (1-2) 06:01
It was the last overtime game and penultimate playoff game at Barclays Center.
Sweet Lou
Lou Lamoriello has the second-highest post-season win total for any general manager in NHL history:
1. Glen Sather 187-137
2. Lou Lamoriello 171-151
Sather (324) is also the only GM with more playoff games than Lamoriello (322). Lamoriello will tie Sather's record in game 4.
First Things First
The Isles are 0-1 when scoring first and are 0-1 when allowing the opening goal.
The Shots
Isles 7-4-1=12
Carolina 10-12-17=39
Shots by Game
Game 1: Isles 34, Carolina 25
Game 2: Isles 12, Carolina 39
Series: Isles 46, Carolina 64
The Isles are 0-1 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-0 when the shots are even and 0-1 when they are outshot.
In the Nets
Semyon Varlamov made 34 saves; he is 0-2 this year and 31-29 in his playoff career.
Frederik Andersen made 9 saves; he is 2-0 this year and 34-26 in his playoff career.
Special Teams
The Isles were 1-1 on the power play (1:16); Carolina was 1-5 on the power play (7:18).
Power Plays by Game
• Game 1: Isles 0-2 (3:59, 4 shots), Carolina 1-3 (4:12, 3 shots)
• Game 2: Isles 1-1 (1:16, 1 shot), Carolina 1-5 (7:18, 4 shots)
• Series: Isles 1-3 (5:15, 5 shots), Carolina 2-8 (11:30, 7 shots)
• 2023 Playoffs Isles 1-18 (32:02, 21 shots), Carolina 5-25 (36:09, 26 shots)
The Isles are 0-1 when they score at least one power play goal and 0-1 when they do not. The Isles are 0-2 when they allow at least one power play goal and 0-0 when they do not.
Three is (Usually) a Magic Number
The Isles are 0-1 when they score at least three goals and are 0-1 when they do not.
One-Goal Games
The Isles are 0-0 in games decided by a single goal (0-0 in regulation and 0-0 in overtime). The Isles are 0-2 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.
Ice-time Leaders
Isles: Ryan Pulock (23:20); Carolina: Sebastian Aho (23:44)
Bo Horvat led Isles forwards with 19:24 of ice-time.
Isles record by ice-time leaders: Bo Horvat (0-1), Ryan Pulock (0-1)
Face-offs
Isles 28, Carolina 41 (41%)
Bo Horvat won 11 of 19 for the Isles; Jordan Staal won 13 of 17 for Carolina.
Face-offs by Game
• Game 1: Isles 24, Carolina 34 (41%)
• Game 2: Isles 28, Carolina 41 (41%)
• Series : Isles 52, Carolina 75 (41%)
Hit Count
Isles 27 (Cal Clutterbuck -5)
Carolina 27 (Jordan Staal -4)
Hits by Game
• Game 1: Isles 17, Carolina 23
• Game 2: Isles 27, Carolina 27
• Series : Isles 44, Carolina 50
Fights
Kyle MacLean fought Stefan Noesen in the first period. Playoff total: 1 (MacLean 1)
Blocked Shots
Isles 36 (Alex Romanov -8)
Carolina 8 (Brett Pesce -2)
For the Analytics Crowd
Corsi: All situations: Isles 28, Carolina 110
Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 20, Carolina 85
Corsi Game by Game:
Game 1: (All) Isles 59, Carolina 74; (5-on-5) Isles 52, Carolina 65
Game 2: (All) Isles 28, Carolina 110: (5-on-5) Isles 20, Carolina 85
Series: (All) Isles 87, Carolina 184; (5-on-5) Isles 72, Carolina 150
5-on-5 leaders:
Isles: No Isles was a +
Carolina: Jaccob Slavin +40, Jordan Martinook +36, Jordan Staal +33
High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)
All situations: Isles 9, Carolina 23
5-on-5: Isles 4, Carolina 15
High-Danger Game by Game:
Game 1: (All) Isles 8, Carolina 8; (5-on-5) Isles 7, Carolina 8
Game 2: (All) Isles 9, Carolina 23; (5-on-5) Isles 4, Carolina 15
Series: (All) Isles 17, Carolina 31; (5-on-5) Isles 11, Carolina 23
2023 Playoffs: (All) Isles 89, Carolina 83; (5-on-5) Isles 68, Carolina 65
Scratches
(Scott Mayfield- LTIR), Samuel Bolduc, Oliver Wahlstrom, Ruslan Iskhakov, Sebastian Aho, Hudson Fasching, Jacob Skarek
Playoff Games Lost: 3
The Ironman (Playoffs)
Matt Martin played in his 81st consecutive Islander playoff game; he has played in every Islander playoff game since 2013.
Challenges
Isles: 0 successful, 0 failures (Regular season 3 of 7, including 1 of 3 for Roy)
Opponents: 0 successful, 0 failures (Regular season 5 of 8 were successful)
League reviews: 0
Quickies
The Isles have not scored two goals in under a minute during this postseason. They did so eight times in the regular season.
The Isles allowed 2 goal in under a minutes once in the postseason (CAR R1G2, :09); The Isles allowed two goals in under a minute nine times in the regular season.
Multi-Goal 3rd Period Comeback Wins
The Isles have allowed one multi-goal third period comeback in this year's playoffs (CAR R1G2, led 3-1, lost 5-3).
The Isles came from two goals behind after two periods to win once and allowed the opposition to do so five times in the regular season.
Last Minute Heroes:
The Isles have allowed one tying goal (Aho CAR R1G2 17:45) and one winning goal (Martinook CAR R1G2 17:54) in the final three minutes of the third period in the playoffs,
In the regular season, the Isles scored five goals and allowed eight goals in the final three minutes of the third period that were either the winning goal or forced overtime.
Overtime Winners
Playoffs: For 0, Vs. 0
Regular Season: For 9, Vs. 11
Active Islander Playoff Leaders: (As NYI)
Games:
Matt Martin 81
Casey Cizikas 77
Brock Nelson 75
Cal Clutterbuck 73
Ryan Pulock 63
Scott Mayfield 58
Consecutive Games:
Matt Martin 81 (every game since start of 2013 playoffs)
Brock Nelson 70
Ryan Pulock 59
Mathew Barzal 57
Goals:
Brock Nelson 25
Mathew Barzal 15
Jean-Gabriel Pageau 11
Cal Clutterbuck 11
Anders Lee 10
Kyle Palmieri 10
Ryan Pulock 8
Matt Martin 8
Casey Cizikas 6
Assists:
Mathew Barzal 26
Brock Nelson 23
Ryan Pulock 16
Jean-Gabriel Pageau 15
Scott Mayfield 12
Casey Cizikas 12
Adam Pelech 11
Noah Dobson 9
Anders Lee 9
Points:
Josh Bailey 50
Brock Nelson 48
Mathew Barzal 41
Jean-Gabriel Pageau 26
Ryan Pulock 24
Anders Lee 19
Cal Clutterbuck 18
Casey Cizikas 18
Penalty Minutes:
Matt Martin 127
Cal Clutterbuck 86
Casey Cizikas 64
Scott Mayfield 47
Anders Lee 44
Mathew Barzal 43
+/-
Scott Mayfield +23
Jean-Gabriel Pageau +15
Kyle Palmieri +8
Adam Pelech +5
PP Goals
Mathew Barzal 4
Anders Lee 4
Ryan Pulock 3
Brock Nelson 3
Kyle Palmieri 2
Oliver Wahlstrom 1
SH Goals
Bo Horvat 1
GW Goals
Brock Nelson 7
Mathew Barzal 3
Ryan Pulock 3
Kyle Palmieri 2
Scott Mayfield 1
Casey Cizikas 1
Matt Martin 1
OT Goals
Mathew Barzal 1
Kyle Palmieri 1
Casey Cizikas 1
Goaltending
Ilya Sorokin 6-5, 2.70 GAA, .925 save percentage.
Semyon Varlamov 18-16, 2.35 GAA, .921 save percentage.
(Varlamov's 18 wins is second in club history to Billy Smith's 88. Among goalies who have played at least ten post-season games, Varlamov has the best goals against average while Sorokin has the best save percentage in club history.)
Series Stats
Carolina leads the series, 2 game to 0.
The Isles are 2-10 all-time in playoff games against Carolina, including 1-6 on the road. Carolina has won the first two games of each of the three series.
The Isles are 3-11 in best-of-7 playoff series when they drop Games 1 and 2; they have lost the last eight series that they trailed 0-2 since beating Montreal in the 1984 Conference Finals.
Carolina is 10-2 when leading a best-of-7 by a 2-0 margin.
UP NEXT
THURSDAY, APRIL 25th–CAROLINA AT ISLANDERS – GAME 3 – 7:30pm
[MSGSN (Extended Pre-game at 6:30), ESPN2, WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN Radio].
The lsles look to get back in the series when they welcome Carolina to UBS Arena for Game 3. The Isles are 7-7 in game 3s of best-of-7's after losing game 1 and 2.
MSG Networks will continue to have game coverage in the first round of the playoffs. All Stanley Cup playoff games also air on either TNT/TBS or ESPN/ESPN2/ABC.
Eric Hornick has been the statistician on Islander home game telecasts since 1982. Information contained in "The Skinny" has been gathered from various sources. Follow Eric @ehornick on Twitter & on his blog www.nyiskinny.com.
