3 Takeaways: Isles Fall Short in 3-2 Game 3 Loss to Hurricanes 

The New York Islanders were pushed to the brink of elimination, as they trail their First Round series with the Carolina Hurricanes three games to none after a 3-2 loss in Game 3.

Pierre Engvall and Brock Nelson scored for the Islanders in the second period, but it wasn’t enough to overcome goals from Brent Burns, Dmitry Orlov and Sebastian Aho. Ilya Sorokin allowed three goals on 14 shots in his first start of the series, while Semyon Varlamov turned aside all eight shots faced in relief. Frederik Andersen stopped 29-of-31 shots for his third win of the series.

"It was a hard-fought game," Head Coach Patrick Roy said. "There weren't many chances on both sides, it was a playoff game. We had a good push and in the third we had our chances, but the puck wasn't bouncing our way."

Roy said this was the second game of the series his team could have deserved a better fate.

“I thought we could have won Game 1 and this game,” Roy said. “They took it away from us, but that's the playoffs. We've been resilient all year."

The Islanders will now have to fight to keep their season alive on Saturday. While climbing out of a 3-0 hole is a tall order, the team is taking it one-game-at-a-time instead of focusing on the larger task.

"Our backs are against the wall," Kyle Palmieri said. "It's do or die for us. Physically and mentally we have to find a way to regroup and play our best game this series on Saturday."

ISLES FALL IN EARLY HOLE

After generating just 12 shots on goal in Game 2, the Islanders came out of the gate with more of a hunger to put pucks on net, outshooting the Hurricanes 15-9 after the first period, but were not rewarded on the scoreboard.

Instead, the Islanders found themselves down 2-0 after the opening frame.

“The first period wasn’t as bad as the score,” Anders Lee said. “They capitalized on two plays, but overall, the period wasn’t that bad.”

The Canes struck 4:46 into the game, as Brent Burns’ shot from along the boards deflected off Mike Reilly’s stick and into the net.

After Hurricanes broke the ice, the Islanders livened up a bit and forged a bit of a push. Pierre Engvall and Adam Pelech had quality looks on Andersen, but the Hurricanes netminder was sharp from the start. Perhaps the best scoring chance came from Noah Dobson - who had open ice and a wide-open net after a Mathew Barzal rebound - but Andersen dashed across his crease and robbed him with a glove save.

“Their goaltender made some key saves when he needed to,” Lee said of Andersen. “In key moments of the game, we had some good chances and he still made the save.”

The Hurricanes doubled their lead when Andrei Svechnikov raced into the Isles zone and made a patient pass to Dmitry Orlov, whose wrister beat Sorokin stick-side to double the Hurricanes lead.

The Islanders got one back early in the second period, as Lee set up Engvall at the top of the crease to cut the deficit to 2-1 at 2:48 of the frame. The primary assist extended Lee’s point streak to three games (1G, 2A) in the postseason.

Sebastian Aho ripped a shot through Sorokin from a distance at 7:14 of the middle frame to regain the two-goal advantage.

SOROKIN STARTS, VARLAMOV COMES OFF IN RELIEF

The big lineup change ahead of Game 3 was Patrick Roy’s decision to start Ilya Sorokin for the first time of the series. But after the netminder allowed three goals on 14 shots, Roy decided to pull him for Varlamov. 

"Sometimes you just want to change the momentum of the game," Roy said. "It was a 3-1 game that we were playing well and just wanted to get some energy and actually it did work because we scored right after."

The goalie change seemed to re-focus the team. Hudson Fasching won a battle along the boards and sauced a pass to Ryan Pulock, who took a long shot at the point through traffic. Brock Nelson buried the loose change at the side of the net to get the Islanders back within one.

Varlamov had a close call upon entering the game - as the netminder was behind his crease and left the puck unprotected – but he settled in quickly after, stopping all eight shots in relief. He made key saves to keep the Islanders in it, including stopping Jack Drury on a two-on-one in the third period.

"We found our game and built our game, had a couple of looks in the third to tie it and just couldn't find a way," Palmieri said.

ISLES BATTLE IN THIRD PERIOD, BUT COME UP SHORT

The Islanders stuck with it and stayed within striking distance, outshooting the Hurricanes 11-3 in the final frame. Overall, Islanders outshot the Hurricanes for the second time of the series, taking the edge 31-22.

“We were much better than we were two nights ago,” Lee said. 

The Isles certainly had their chances in the third period. Alexander Romanov’s blast from the point was saved by Andersen, but a loose puck remained in the crease. Andersen stifled it with his glove before Fasching had the chance to deposit the rebound.

The effort was a stark difference from the Islanders’ performance on Monday night for Game 2, where the Islanders allowed four goals and were outshot 17-1 in the final frame. The resilience and effort did not go unnoticed by Patrick Roy. 

"We just came up short," Roy said. "But I love how hard the guys are working. It was nice to see our guys not giving up and being resilient. I appreciate that from them."

NEXT GAME

The Islanders host the Hurricanes for Game Four. Puck drop is set for 2 p.m.