Hurricanes 4, Islanders 2

The Carolina Hurricanes have been working very hard on the powerplay and so far this young preseason, the work has paid off.  The Canes scored three powerplay goals and earned their first preseason win as they defeated the New York Islanders, 4-2 on Wednesday night at Nassau Coliseum.

Ryan Murphy, Jeff Skinner, and Andrej Sekera all scored with the man advantage and Nathan Gerbe scored at even strength for the visitors.

Carolina has now scored five powerplay goals in three games so far this preseason and Eric Staal and Alexander Semin have yet to see action.

Drew MacIntyre went the distance for the Hurricanes and stopped 26 of the 28 shots he faced.

The Canes jumped out to a 3-0 lead early in the third period before the Islanders scored shorthanded to keep themselves in it.  MacIntyre was able to shut the door the rest of the way until Ryan Strome scored with just 1:27 left.

The club will have some time to practice now as their next game is not scheduled until next week Tuesday, when they will face the Blues in St. Louis.

Game Notes:

• In a sequence you don't see everyday, Brett Bellemore took three consecutive minor penalties in the second period, then got into a fight.  The defenseman was getting over a sore back the past few days.  He finished with 14:13 of ice time.
• The goal scorers each finished with two points as Sekera, Gerbe, Skinner, and Murphy had a goal and an assist.
• Jay McClement and Brad Malone lead all Carolina forwards with 21:11 and 20:39 of ice time respectively.  Sekera led the team with 25:37 of TOI.
• After winning 69% of his faceoffs last night, Victor Rask won 73% in this game, (8-11).
• The Canes were outshot for the first time this preseason, 28-23.  Skinner had a team high four shots on goal.