With the Carolina Hurricanes playoff hopes extinguished, the New York Islanders’ hopes rage on. The Islanders shut out the Hurricanes 3-0 on Thursday night, keeping their marginal playoff hopes alive for the time being. Carolina has now lost four straight games after mustering a 13-game point streak.
The shutout was the Islanders’ first against the Hurricanes since December 28, 2002, and a far cry from the first four games of the season series when the Canes ran roughshod over the Islanders, averaging 5.5 goals per game.
The Islanders took a commanding 2-0 lead early in the first period where they scored two goals just five minutes into the game. Brock Nelson struck first on a goal that somehow found its way into the net. Nelson pushed his way to the front of the net and ricocheted a shot off the foot of Jordan Staal which then trickled past Hurricanes goaltender Eddie Lack. The Islanders struck again just minutes later when Scott Mayfield scored his second at the 4:39 mark of the first period. The Islanders outplayed and out shot the Hurricanes 11-6 in the first.
After a Victor Rask double minor penalty late in the first period, Andrew Ladd scored on the power play early in the second period to give the Islanders a three goal lead. The Hurricanes gained a bit of momentum after the Ladd goal but had little to show for it except 15 shots in the period.
The third period was a quiet affair with not much action. The Islanders controlled play by gaining net front presence and played exceptionally well defensively in the neutral zone. The Islanders physical presence was felt as they outhit the Hurricanes 34-21. Jaroslav Halak played exceptionally well, stopping all 29 shots that came his way. The Hurricanes could not get many high quality chances as they attempted 61 shots.
This is the second time the Hurricanes were shut out in less than a week. The last time they were shut out was against Dallas on April 1st. The Hurricanes will wrap up their home schedule on Saturday against the St. Louis Blues and wrap up their season on Sunday against the Philadelphia Flyers on the road.
Rank the Performances
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