Hurricanes overwhelm Islanders, rally from 3 down to win Game 2

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Sebastian Aho and Jordan Martinook scored nine seconds apart late in the third period, and the Carolina Hurricanes rallied from three goals down to defeat the New York Islanders 5-3 in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference First Round at PNC Arena on Monday.

Aho tied it 3-3 at 17:45 with Frederik Andersen on the bench for the extra attacker. Andrei Svechnikov one-timed a shot from the left circle that went right to Aho, who redirected it into the net from the right post.

Martinook then gave Carolina a 4-3 lead at 17:54. Islanders defenseman Noah Dobson got pushed aside while trying to retrieve a dump in behind the net, which allowed Martinook to grab the puck and quickly throw a shot off the left skate of Semyon Varlamov, who was looking the other way.

Jake Guentzel then scored an empty-net goal with 56 seconds left for the 5-3 final.

“In the third, it was just wave after wave,” Martinook said. “We were coming at them and we didn’t give them anything, which was key.

“The momentum of us tying the game and the energy it sends, I don’t really know how to describe it. Obviously, you push that hard, hopefully you’re going to get a couple. Luckily we did. Those are fun games to be a part of, and I’m not going to sleep too good tonight I don’t think.”

Seth Jarvis had a goal and two assists, and Guentzel and Aho each had a goal and an assist for the Hurricanes, who are the No. 2 seed from the Metropolitan Division. Andersen made nine saves.

“It was a special night, for sure,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “It’s one of those games we’ll look back on for a long time. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime type game.”

Kyle Palmieri, Bo Horvat and Anders Lee scored for the Islanders, who are the No. 3 seed from the Metropolitan. Varlamov made 34 saves.

Carolina leads the best-of-7 series 2-0. Game 3 will be in Elmont, New York, on Thursday.

“It’s a tough loss, no doubt about it, because we had a chance to win that game,” New York coach Patrick Roy said. “But at the same time, we’ve got to regroup and be ready for the next game. We’re going home and we need to play well at our building and win game No. 3, that’s all.”

Palmieri gave the Islanders a 1-0 lead at 16:22 of the first period. Andersen stopped Palmieri's initial chance from in close, but the forward found the rebound in the crease and jammed the puck into the open net.

Horvat made it 2-0 at 19:45 with a one-timer blocker side from the high slot off a pass from Mathew Barzal.

Lee pushed the lead to 3-0 with a power-play goal at 3:54 of the second period. After taking a short pass from Jean-Gabriel Pageau at the top of the crease, Lee pulled the puck to his backhand and tucked a shot around Andersen’s left pad.

The Hurricanes controlled play the rest of the way, though, outshooting the Islanders 29-5 over the final two periods, when they spent the majority of the time in the offensive zone. They also held a 110-28 advantage in shot attempts for the game.

“As a group, you support one another defensively, and there’s times we got hemmed in,” New York forward Brock Nelson said. “I thought guys laid it on the line a couple times when were were stuck because of broken sticks, which obviously hurts. You’d like to be playing more in the offensive zone, for sure.”

Teuvo Teravainen cut the lead to 3-1 with a power-play goal at 13:01 of the second. Varlamov stopped Jarvis' shot from the left circle, but the rebound went to Guentzel, who quickly fed Teravainen for a shot into an open net.

“It gives you hope, it gives you a chance,” Brind’Amour said. “We went into the [third] period down two, so it wasn’t a total disaster of a period. Guys felt good about how they were playing.”

Teravainen’s goal came after Varlamov was assessed a minor for tripping Carolina forward Stefan Noesen. It was New York's second penalty in the span of 4:43.

“I felt like when we took those penalties, that gave them the momentum and the game shifted big time,” Roy said. “We started losing those 1-on-1 battles, and we didn’t do a very good job along the wall to get those pucks out, and they took advantage of it.”

Jarvis got the Hurricanes to within 3-2 at 10:43 of the third period, roofing a wrist shot from the left circle under the crossbar.

“He’s been incredible all year,” Martinook said. “He’s a big-game player. For ‘Jarvy’ to get that beautiful goal, it got the place rocking, and it didn’t really stop from then on out."

NOTES: Hurricanes defenseman Brett Pesce left the game in the second period with a lower-body injury. Brind’Amour said he will be evaluated on Tuesday. ... The goals nine seconds apart by Aho and Martinook were the fastest in Hurricanes/Hartford Whalers postseason history. ... The three-goal comeback victory was the third in Hurricanes playoff history. They also did it in Game 4 of the 2002 Conference Semifinals (a 4-3 overtime win against the Montreal Canadiens) and in Game 1 of the 2006 Stanley Cup Final (a 5-4 win against the Edmonton Oilers).