John Tavares scored two goals and chipped in with two assists as the New York Islanders defeated the Carolina Hurricanes, 5-2 in front of 15,575 on Tuesday night at the RBC.
In the first two periods, the Canes were off to a bit of a slow start, with the help of four penalties called against them. The visitors held a 2-0 lead going into the third period and were outshooting the home team by a 18-13 margin.
But Carolina would come roaring back in the third as they tied the game after scoring twice early in the period. First, Brandon Sutter lifted a perfect backhander over New York goalie Kevin Poulin. Poulin looked very strong in this game and made a couple of key saves throughout, but he was never really pushed hard in this one.
Tim Brent evened the score with a powerplay tally at 6:55 into the third when he banked the puck in off of an Islander player from behind the net.
It looked like the Hurricanes had all the momentum at that time, but Tavares came right back the very next shift and beat the defense down the ice for an open chance at Ward. He made no mistake and netted the game winner.
The Islanders would score two empty-netters to seal the deal in the final minute and a half of the game.
The Canes will travel to Boston tomorrow for a game against the Bruins on Thursday night.
Game Notes:
- Eric Staal had a couple of nice moves and good chances but he could not beat Poulin. The Carolina Captain finished with a -3 for his trouble.
- The team was outshot 26-23. Brandon Sutter had a team high six shots on goal. He also had four of his shots blocked.
- Anthony Stewart and Andreas Nodl each had a team high three hits. The team had 15 for the night compared to 23 for New York.
- Jay Harrison had a team high four blocked shots. The blueliner was second with 23:03 of time on ice. Justin Faulk had a team high 25:10, but finished with a -2 on this night.
- The Canes won 55% of their draws. (Staal 57%, Sutter 43%, Nash 43%, Jokinen 86%)
- Carolina has yet to win a game this season when trailing after two periods, (0-14-2). The team is (1-13-0) when trailing after just one period.
Post game interviews: