*Photo from the San Diego Union Tribune*
Carolina leads series 3-1
The series ain't over yet. Bo Horvat had a pair of assists, Mathew Barzal scored two goals, and the New York Islanders defeated the Carolina Hurricanes with a 3-2 double OT win Saturday on Long Island.
Needing to win to keep their season alive, the Islanders did just that as they extended the series for at least another game. Barzal and Horvat were the multi point scorers as the Islanders came out on top of a double overtime marathon game, the first double OT game of the playoffs this year.
New York head coach Patrick Roy said after the game that "You have no idea how proud I am of this group. They came out and played hard. Even when they 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."
On the power play 8 minutes into the game, the lone goal of the opening period came from the Hurricanes. Seth Jarvis got it done, assisted by Jake Guentzel on his second goal of the playoffs. The only goal of the second period came from Barzal, who tied the game 1-1 with help from Horvat and Adam Pelech.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored on the power play just 1:38 into the 3rd period for the Islanders, giving them a 2-1 lead. With the Hurricanes on a power play of their own at the 14:08 mark of the period, Stefan Noesen scored to tie the game 2-2, which eventually led to double OT. Barzal scored 1:24 into the second OT to give the Islanders the win.
Barzal said of his goal "Great forecheck by Bo. That's kind of just how it's been. 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."
Making his 3rd start of the series in goal for the Islanders was Semyon Varlamov, who came up big with the season on the line. Varlamov stopped 44 of the 46 shots he was tested with by the Hurricanes offense, good for a sparkling .955 save percentage.
Getting the start on the other end of the ice was Frederik Andersen for the Hurricanes, who was outdueled by his counterpart on the Islanders. Andersen made 32 saves on the 35 shots the Islanders sent his way, giving him a .914 save percentage.
Carolina head coach Rod Brind'Amour said of the loss that "It’s tough to win four games in a row on someone, especially when the games are so even like they are. 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 got to focus on the next one."
Game 5 of the series is set for Tuesday night as the series shifts back to Raleigh for a game. The Hurricanes will look to stamp their ticket to the second round while the Islanders need to win again to keep the series going.
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