Islanders defeat Hurricanes in 2OT in Game 4, stay alive in East 1st Round

ELMONT, N.Y. -- Mathew Barzal scored 1:24 into the second overtime, and the New York Islanders avoided getting swept by the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference First Round with a 3-2 win in Game 4 at UBS Arena on Saturday.

Barzal tipped in a Robert Bortuzzo shot for his second goal of the game.

"Great forecheck by Bo [Horvat]. That's kind of just how it's been," Barzal said. "When we can get the puck stopped down there and get the forecheck going and slow the play down a little bit down there, we have some success. It was a great shot by Bortuzzo, trying to find the lane and throw it in an area where there's some bodies. It's a lucky bounce."

Game 5 of the best-of-7 series will be at Carolina on Tuesday (7:30 p.m. ET; TBS, MAX, BSSO, MSGSN).

Semyon Varlamov made 42 saves, including 17 in the first overtime, for the Islanders, the No. 3 seed from the Metropolitan Division.

“You have no idea how proud I am of this group,” New York coach Patrick Roy said. “They came out and played hard. Even when [the Hurricanes] took the lead, we stayed calm, and we stayed focused. Our mindset was really good and I think the guys were determined to find a way to fight to win this hockey game.”

Seth Jarvis and Stefan Noesen scored for the Hurricanes, the No. 2 seed from the Metropolitan. Frederik Andersen made 32 saves.

“It’s tough to win four games in a row on someone, especially when the games are so even like they are,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour said. “It could have went either way in all three, just like tonight could have easily gone the other way. We expected it to be a long series and we've got to focus on the next one.”

Jean-Gabriel Pageau gave the Islanders a 2-1 lead at 1:38 of the third period on the power play. After Pierre Engvall won the face-off at the right dot, Anders Lee passed the puck to Noah Dobson, whose wrist shot from the right boards produced a rebound off Andersen’s right pad, which went right to Pageau stationed inside the left circle for a one-timer.

"I was happy. It's always fun to contribute offensively," Pageau said. "My game is not always scoring goals or getting points. It's winning my battles, winning my face-offs, and being strong with the puck, but it's definitely fun. I was happy to score that goal."

Noesen tied the game at 2-2 on the power play at 14:08. Teuvo Teravainen found Noesen alone in front for a redirecttion that beat Varlamov glove side from the top of the crease.

Jarvis gave the Hurricanes a 1-0 lead on the power play at 8:00 of the first period. After Brent Burns’ point shot got knocked down in the slot, Jake Guentzel got a few whacks at it before the puck trickled to Jarvis, who scored from below the hash marks.

Barzal scored his first goal of the Stanley Cup Playoffs at 10:10 of the second period to tie it 1-1. After quickly cutting back atop the right circle, Barzal banked a wrist shot off the glove-side post and in.

“I just tried to use my speed on the outside, turned up and I really didn’t see anything,” Barzal said. “Their defensemen played really well. I didn’t have much space. It was a great screen by [Casey] Cizikas. He slid in front of Andersen’s eyes there, and I just tried to put the puck on net. You never know.”

Through two periods, the Hurricanes outshot the Islanders 20-14. The Islanders had the advantage in the face-off circle, winning 24 of the first 28 draws.

“That was a big part of it,” Hurricanes forward Sebastian Aho said about the face-offs. “You don’t lose or win games by just face-offs. But having said that, you get a lot of puck possession if you win them and vice versa. If you lose them, then you’re chasing the game. We got to do a better job with that.”

NOTES: Barzal became the first Islanders player with multiple goals in a potential elimination game since Mariusz Czerkawski scored twice against the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 6 of the 2002 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. … Bortuzzo’s primary assist on the winning goal was his first point since being traded to the Islanders from the St. Louis Blues on Dec. 8 (27 games, including playoffs). ... Lee is the only player on either team to have a point in all four games of the series (one goal, three assists). … The Hurricanes are 8-4 in potential series-clinching games since 2019.