Wild final minute ends in Hurricanes loss to Islanders on a Kyle Palmieri goal
The Carolina Hurricanes were roughly 15 seconds away from forcing the game into overtime, maybe stealing two points Friday against the New York Islanders.
Vincent Trocheck had tied the score for the Canes with 56.8 seconds remaining in regulation after goalie Frederik Andersen was pulled for a sixth attacker. The crowd of 17,279 at PNC Arena was on its feet, roaring, after Trocheck collected a rebound and had an open net.
But there still was time left and the Islanders made the most of it, quickly regrouping and winning 2-1 on a Kyle Palmieri goal with 15 seconds left that quickly lowered the sound level in the building.
Palmieri carried the puck around the Canes net, held off defenseman Brady Skjei and got off a rising shot that beat Andersen. The Canes again attacked the Isles net, Teuvo Teravainen getting off a shot, but it was too late.
“Those are tough,” Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “The fact we got one late is kind of, ‘OK, maybe we’ll get something out of this’ and then turn around and blow a little assignment. That’s a tough way to end the game, for sure.”
A night after clinching a fourth straight berth in the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Canes (46-18-8) were handed just their seventh home loss in regulation this season in a Metropolitan Division game that was a grinder. The late goal also gave Andersen, brilliant much of the season, a third consecutive loss.
“You could tell, from my point, we were really gassed,” Brind’Amour said. “There was no energy in our legs, so we had no speed to get in and get on them. They did a nice job with a lot of blocked shots (15) and did that kind of thing to keep us from getting any kind of real traction after the first period.”
The Canes had the best scoring chance in the first, but Martin Necas, looking at an open net, shot the puck into the right pad of goalie Ilya Sorokin. The period ended scoreless.
“It was a great first period,” Brind’Amour said. “We did everything we needed to except score. If we get ahead it’s a different game.”
Instead, the Islanders (33-28-9) got ahead. Palmieri forced Canes defenseman Ethan Bear into a turnover behind the Canes net and Matt Martin found Jean-Gabriel Pageau unchecked in front of Andersen for a 1-0 lead at 8:24 of the second period.
The rest was mostly frustration for the Canes, who rallied for a 5-3 win Thursday over the Buffalo Sabres to secure a playoff spot. It also hurt that defenseman Brendan Smith left the game early in the third with an injury.
Carolina had one shot in the second period, the fewest by Canes in a period in more than two years. Sorokin, returning from an upper-body injury, had an easy time of it and faced just 21 shots in the game in earning his 23rd victory.
“They blocked a lot of shots,” Trocheck said. “We had a lot of shots from the outside. I think it’s just a matter of getting to the net against these guys. They pack it in pretty tight.”
The Canes were 0-4 on the power play in the game, with four shots, and were more threatening shorthanded than 5-on-4 as they were outworked by the Isles’ penalty killers.
The Canes’ top power-play unit of Trocheck, Teravainen, Sebastian Aho, Andrei Svechnikov and Tony DeAngelo was ineffective, struggling in all areas — zone entries, setting up, finding open shooting lanes.
“Terrible,” Brind’Amour said. “They’re not executing. There’s no speed. They’re just coming up kind of nonchalant. You’ve got to have more intensity there.”
The Canes have failed to score a power-play goal in last last four games and six of the last seven.
Asked if he would change up the top power-play unit, Brind’Amour said, “No. I’ve got my five best guys out there.” He also added, “They’ll get it back.”
The Canes, still leading the Metro Division by two points over the New York Rangers, have 10 games remaining in the regular season and will play their fourth game in six days Sunday against the Anaheim Ducks at PNC Arena.
As Brind’Amour said, the games keep on coming.
This story was originally published April 8, 2022 at 9:33 PM.
