Playoff Takeaways: Wild bounces, rolling Canes eliminate Islanders in Game 5

For a brief moment, it looked like the New York Islanders might just have a chance.

Down 3-1 against the powerhouse Carolina Hurricanes in game and series, outshout heftily through the early going of a do-or-die Game 5 Tuesday night, the Isles began the long march back. 

A dramatic second period seemed to tilt in their direction. They got one back early, then another, in theatrical fashion, to knot things up in the final minute of that middle frame. Three nights after the fireworks of a double-overtime season-saver that kept their campaign alive, the Islanders had their eyes on another upset.

And then it all fell apart.

The Hurricanes pushed back, the hockey gods threw in a couple cruel twists of fate, and this first-round bout came to an end. Before we turn to the page to the Canes’ next New York assignment, here’s a look at the 6-3 win that clinched the series in five.

QUICK-START CANES STRIKE AGAIN

It was another nightmare start for the Islanders, who saw the final game of this series begin just how the first one did: with a Carolina goal a minute-and-a-half into the opening period. 

This time, it was Teuvo Teravainen picking up the puck from a wheeling Seth Jarvis down low, and sniping one past Semyon Varlamov early. It went from bad to worse for the Isles soon after, a Hudson Fasching cross-check putting the Canes on an early power play. The Islanders have continued to play with fire on special teams throughout this series, putting the Hurricanes’ No. 2-ranked power play on the ice against New York’s league-worst penalty kill. 

And as it has all series, it burned them again here. Andrei Svechnikov threw a puck on net, it deflected off an Islanders defender, and found its way past Varlamov for the Canes’ fifth power-play goal in as many games.

It all pushed Carolina’s lead to 2-0 just 3:13 into the game — the early pair ranked as the fastest two goals Carolina’s ever scored to start a post-season tilt. In all, the Canes scored the opening goal in four of five games in this match-up, continuously putting the underdog Isles on the back foot, forcing them to fight their way back to level ground.

That said, perhaps the Canes would’ve rolled over the Islanders even if the opposite had been true. The one night that saw New York score first was Game 2, when the Canes went down 3-0, clawed their way back, and put up five unanswered to somehow still get the win.

THE LAST-GASP COMEBACK

With their season on the line, though, the Islanders made clear they weren’t going to go away quietly. While the first 20 minutes of Game 5 undoubtedly went against them, the visitors took the game to the hosting Canes in Period 2.

New York came out strong, got an early goal of their own from Brock Nelson, and most importantly, proved yet again that they could hold Carolina’s star-studded offence at bay, at least for stretches. Midway through the second period, it was all New York, the Hurricanes’ offence sputtering just a bit, and the Islanders’ finding life.

In the final 30 seconds of that frame, the Islanders truly began to shine. Double-OT hero Mathew Barzal was wheeling and dealing again, cutting into the offensive zone and spinning down into to the corner, leaving red-and-black jerseys in his wake. A fantastic dish through traffic set up Ryan Pulock for a dangerous look in the slot. 

And then, finally, a bit of luck went New York’s way. The puck came back to Barzal. He spun again, this time setting up Casey Cizikas. Just as the long-time Islander fired on net, netminder Frederik Andersen caught an edge, falling helplessly to the right of the cage as the puck fluttered in unchallenged.

Tie game.

QUICK START, QUICKER FINISH

For the early moments of the third period, it looked like that Islanders’ push was going to continue. But the lucky break was short-lived, and in a wild, absurd, 10-second flurry, it was all over.

It started with Brady Skjei, carrying the puck into the Islanders’ zone four-and-a-half minutes into the third. He tried a shot, only to see the puck bounce off Alexander Romanov’s leg, bounce again over Jean-Gabriel Pageau’s stick, and land right on Jack Drury’s blade. The New York City native didn’t miss a beat, corralling the puck and wiring it past Varlamov before the Islanders realized what was happening.

Seconds later, another tough break.

It was Skjei again, this time simply getting to the red line off the centre-ice faceoff, and firing the puck into the Islanders’ zone. It skittered down the boards, took a chaotic bounce in the corner, another off the post, and then floated right into the crease, on a platter. Before Varlamov could scramble from where he was waiting behind the net, there was Stefan Noesen swiping the puck into the open cage. Easy work, 5-3. (Carolina added a real empty-netter, too, before the night was done.)

It’ll be a tough sequence to swallow for the Islanders and their fans. Two broken plays, a series of brutal bounces, and an eight-second stretch that essentially ended their season.

For Carolina, the quick pair meant yet another broken record — those two goals in eight seconds now rank as the fastest in franchise history. It’s becoming a signature of these Canes in these playoffs, it seems — the record broken Tuesday was set only a week ago, in Game 2, when Carolina potted two in nine seconds.

KUZNETSOV’S MARQUEE MOMENTS

In between the Canes scoring in bunches, the Islanders’ attempted comeback, and the general chaos, came what might be the slowest memorable moment in playoff history: an Evgeny Kuznetsov penalty-shot special.

It came 13 minutes into the opening period, after the home side had tallied those two early goals. A rush on the Islanders’ net saw Romanov close his hand on the puck in the crease, triggering the penalty-shot opportunity for Carolina.

Kuznetsov took his position, and the hockey world held its collective breath, waiting to see if he would really go for his signature approach with the stakes what they were. 

He did, of course — inching towards Varlamov at a snail’s pace, out-waiting the netminder for what seemed an eternity, until Varlamov finally bit and went for a poke check, and Kuznetsov wired it home.

While it was Jake Guentzel who was brought in to be the Canes’ post-season game changer, it’s Kuznetsov who’s somehow authored two marquee moments amid his team’s run so far: it was the former Washington Capital who scored a minute-and-a-half into Game 1 to kick off this series, and tonight came the penalty-shot wizardry.

With Tuesday’s goal, Kuznetsov becomes just the second player in NHL history to score on a penalty shot in a potentially series-clinching post-season game. The only other? Eric Lindros, to help clinch Game 5 of the ’97 Conference Semifinal.

UP NEXT: A RANGERS REUNION

With their first-round match-up handled, the Hurricanes now move on to another New York assignment: they’ll face the New York Rangers in Round 2, the Blueshirts fresh off sweeping the Capitals out of Round 1 in their own playoff-opening drubbing.

While the Metro’s top two clubs figure to combine for a spirited second-round bout, it’ll be an especially memorable meeting for the two teams’ head coaches, Peter Laviolette and Rod Brind’Amour. The last time Carolina lifted the Cup, back in ’06, it was Brind’Amour who hoisted the trophy first, as captain. And it was Laviolette who got it soon after, as his head coach.

Their reunion marks the first time in modern NHL history that a coach and captain who won the Cup together will meet again in the playoffs as opposing coaches. Only one other pair has ever experienced the oddly rare dynamic, Toronto duo Dick Irvin and Hap Day facing off as opposing coaches in the ‘40s after winning together a decade prior.

Who gets the last laugh in the revival reunion?