Recap: Canes Beat Isles Despite Losing Raanta To Injury

ELMONT, NY. -The Carolina Hurricanes lost both their starting netminder and their lead during the second period of Sunday's affair against the New York Islanders, but showed resolve in the third to take a 5-2 victory.

The Rundown:
Despite it being their second game in as many days, the Canes showed no signs of wear in the opening moments of the affair. Thanks in part to the fresh legs of Derek Stepan, who drew back into the lineup after being out on Saturday, Carolina was able to score on their first shot of the afternoon.
A turnover by Islanders defenseman Noah Dobson in his own end went right to the tape of the veteran #18, who immediately fired to beat Semyon Varlamov to give the Canes a lead just 2:25 in.

5:44 later it was 2-0, as Seth Jarvis moved his current point streak to five-games, a new career-high, with a power-play tally.
Before the Canes could take their two-goal advantage into the middle frame, the home side was able to get on the board within the final two minutes. A loose puck in front was tapped by Raanta, giving the Islanders some life.
In the second period is when the game took a turn though. With 10:02 remaining, Antti Raanta dropped down to stop a shot off the tape of Dobson. He looked uncomfortable as he got up, but played on through the ensuing faceoff. Then tested again moments later, it was visible that the goaltender was hurt. It took nearly three minutes to get another whistle and when that came, Raanta made his way to the bench and right down the tunnel, ending his day.
Thus entered Pyotr Kochetkov, fewer than 24 hours after earning his first NHL win in his first NHL appearance in New Jersey.
Forced in under less than ideal circumstances, the first shot that the 22-year-old saw then beat him, coming on the power play with a heavy screen in front. Just like that, the Canes had lost both their goaltender and the lead.
2-2 entering the third, it was an effort filled with resolve for Carolina, who dug in and found a way to earn a victory for their rookie netminder.
Max Domi started the scoring run with his second marker of the week, depositing a feed from below the goal line by Teuvo Teravainen.

From there the Canes locked it down, giving the Islanders next to no room to work with in the final 14:20. In total, the Islanders only had five shots in the final 20 minutes of play.
As Kochetkov was equal to the task on all five, both Jesper Fast and Brendan Smith hit the empty net for Carolina inside the final three minutes, ushering them to a 5-2 victory.
They Said It:
Derek Stepantouching on Kochetkov coming in and the team finding a way to win...
"I don't think it's an easy position for a goaltender, to come in mid-game. I thought Rants was really good for us and when he came in, everyone tightened up to help out a teammate. The kid did a great job. Overall, our best period was our third period and that was a big part of tonight's game."
Jordan Staaloffering more on Kochetkov:
"The kid looks great. He's played really well for us right from the start. It's unfortunate, you don't want injures in that position, but the team's done a great job with having some depth and Kochetkov's come in played really well, so we're going to continue to fight for him up front. We want to keep playing well for him and keep moving on."
Staalcontinuing on Stepan, who scored in the opening stages again after being out the lineup:
"He's a pro. He's done a great job throughout this year. Obviously it's probably not the way he would want it, but he's taken it in stride. He's been on the ball as soon as he's gotten the call and tonight's was another example of a great game by him. He's such a smart player. That was a great stick on his goal, but he's done a lot of little things. He's great on the penalty kill, he's done a great job of playing well for us.
Rod Brind'Amour'sthoughts on the game as a whole...
"The third period was obviously our best period. We didn't give up anything. We're going to get our chances, but it's just making sure we limited theirs. We made it look like how we wanted to play, especially the game-winning goal. Great work by everybody. It wasn't a pretty game through two periods, but I thought it was a real good third."
What's Next?:
The Canes are slated to be off Monday before taking on the Rangers Tuesday. A win in any fashion would clinch the Metropolitan Division for Carolina.
Bonus Notes:
Worth A Click:
Mailbag #25: The Final Week
Burnside: Slavin's Story
CanesCast Episode 209: Us? Worried?
Hurricanes April Schedule
NHL Standings