Playoff Notebook: Looking Further Into The Game 2 Chaos

RALEIGH, NC. - Yes, that actually happened.

Trailing 3-1 with 10 minutes to go in regulation on Monday night, the Carolina Hurricanes rattled off four more unanswered goals to take a shocking 5-3 win over the New York Islanders in Game 2.

It was an instant memory for many and a sequence of minutes that falls right in line with some of the best playoff moments in team history.

Seth Jarvis' goal to cut the deficit to one with just 9:17 left gave the team hope and when Sebastian Aho redirected home Andrei Svechnikov's blast to tie it, it felt like a foregone conclusion that the Canes would come out on top.

Momentum had been trending in their favor essentially since the Islanders took the 3-0 lead.

Shot attempts in the final two periods alone were 82-11, and New York's strategy of sitting back and trying to hang on for the victory was unsuccessful.

But who could have predicted that it would take just nine seconds to find the game-winning goal?

In the midst of the eruption of over 18,000 fans, Rod Brind'Amour had a quick decision to make. He had just had six of his best horses on the ice in search of the equalizer and needed three forwards out there to follow up the madness.

Jordan Martinook and Jordan Staal received the instruction, and they were flanked by Jack Drury, a combination of three not often seen together.

Then, magic.

"It was a pretty easy decision, to be quite honest," Brind'Amour explained of his decision to go with that group of three for the "bump-up shift." "It's generally guys that you can trust. Guys who you know what kind of game they're going to bring and what that shift is going to look like. When you put those guys out, you know what they're going to do."

Brind'Amour was right, he knew most of what was going to come.

The ensuing faceoff was a rare loss for Staal, who was 76% on the night, but before New York defenseman Noah Dobson could even try to do what he wanted with it, Martinook was on him and forced him to make a mistake.

Hard work and hunger from his forward? Got it.

Drury collected the loose puck, entered the zone, and moved it deeper into the Islanders' end.

Sticking to the team's identity and getting pucks behind the opposition's defense? Check.

Martinook applied the pressure on Dobson going back for the puck, gave him a bump, and collected the rubber.

With Semyon Varlamov peeking over his blocker-side shoulder because he saw his defenseman get pushed in that direction, #48 beat him back to the glove-side post.

Unforgettable stuff.

"The momentum of us tying the game and the energy that it sends... I don't even know how to describe it. You get a whole juice that hits you." Martinook said post-game. "I got in on the forecheck and luckily was able to pick him and make that play."

It was the first time in Islanders playoff history that they lost a game in which they led 3-0. They'd previously been 81-0.

"You don't want to go down 3-0. We're going to have to make sure we don't make a habit of that," Martinook continued.  "Then I think the last eight minutes the second period we were in their zone and it felt like we were starting to take the game over. In the third, you ride that momentum and you build off of the second, just trying to keep it going. I felt that the third was just wave after wave we were coming and we didn't give them anything, which is key. Obviously, if you push that hard you're hoping to get a couple (goals) and we did."

Pesce's Status...

While the win was nothing short of amazing, unfortunately, the Canes suffered a loss within.

Defenseman Brett Pesce left the game with a lower-body injury during the second period and neither the post-game nor day after update from Brind'Amour have sounded encouraging.

The head coach said Tuesday morning that the team is in "wait and see mode" and they'll assess things when they get news following Pesce's re-evaluation.

Albeit we will all hold out hope that #22 is not seriously injured, the Canes will have to proactively look ahead in case it is the outcome.

The team currently has two extra defensemen with them in Tony DeAngelo and Scott Morrow and one of their services may be needed come Thursday.

Brind'Amour said if Pesce is out, DeAngelo sliding in is "more than likely what will happen."

The 28-year-old has 17 games of NHL playoff experience, including 14 two seasons ago with the Canes, while Morrow has just two regular season pro contests under his belt after turning pro earlier this month.

More information on Pesce, one way or the other, will be available when the team practices on Wednesday at 11 a.m.

In The Crease...

Per Hockey Reference (h/t Cory Lavalette of the North State Journal & The Athletic), Frederik Andersen became the first goalie since 2008 to earn a win while playing a full playoff game while making fewer than 10 saves.

Having to make just nine, Andersen allowed the three goals on the first nine shots he saw but was forced to make just one stop on the final 34:56.

While the numbers indicate that it may not have been the best night of his career, the beauty of the light workload and the two-day gap between games is that the Canes do have the option to go back to Andersen for a third consecutive game on Thursday.

Brind'Amour said this morning that the team hadn't discussed a plan for Game 3 just yet, but they would feel comfortable with going back to "Zilla" once again.

It's an interesting decision to make because Thursday's start on Long Island is set for 7:30 p.m., and it's a somewhat quick turnaround for Game 4, which gets underway at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday.

For what it's worth, Pyotr Kochetkov's last regular season game came on Saturday, April 14 in Chicago, and he won his final four starts before playoffs.

The Next Few Days...

• Wednesday, April 24 - Practice (11 a.m. ET) + Flight to New York
• Thursday, April 25 - Game 3 (7:30 p.m. ET) - Bally Sports South, ESPN2, SN360, TVAS (Road Game HQ at Carolina Ale House - Downtown Raleigh)
• Friday, April 26 - Practice (12 p.m. ET)
• Saturday, April 27 - Game 4 (2 p.m. ET) - Bally Sports South, TBS, TruTV, Max, SN, TVAS (Road Game HQ at Carolina Ale House - Downtown Raleigh)

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