Hurricanes’ OT win over Islanders ‘like a butterfly effect,’ goalie Frederik Andersen said
Paul Stastny scored the series-winning goal and was promptly mobbed by his Carolina Hurricanes teammates.
Moments before, the Canes’ Derek Stepan had hustled to keep the puck in the New York Islanders zone — barely — before his pass low to Stastny.
“That play ‘Steppy’ makes to keep that puck in, there’s not going to be a whole bunch of people talking about that, but that’s what creates the play,” Canes forward Jordan Martinook said.
Stastny’s goal in overtime Friday gave the Hurricanes a 2-1 victory over the Islanders, and a 4-2 win in the teams’ first-round Stanley Cup playoff series. And, to be fair, half of Stastny’s teammates surrounded him after the goal while several streaked in the other direction to goalie Frederik Andersen.
But two plays occurred before Stepan made the recovery and the pass, before Stastny put a sharp-angled shot on net for the winner. The first made things easier for Andersen and harder for the Islanders, and the second momentarily held up the Canes’ final celebration.
The plays, which Andersen likened to “the butterfly effect,” epitomized the hockey adages of “every play counts” in the playoffs, and that a matter of inches can be the difference. Attention to detail — every detail — is needed.
Chatfield hustle, and a quick flip
First, Canes defenseman Jalen Chatfield raced down ice into the defensive zone, just beating the Isles’ Bo Horvat in a two-man race to force an icing call against the Islanders.
“He’s been doing that all year, and those are the little things that go unnoticed,” defenseman Jaccob Slavin said Sunday. “He works his tail off night-in and night-out. Without that icing who knows what happens. Every little play matters.”
That brought the puck back to the New York zone and the Islanders did manage to get the puck out after the faceoff, but Canes defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere quickly flipped it back in from the neutral zone — the Canes forwards skating back to tag up at the blue line and get onside.
Stepan was able to keep Adam Pelech’s clearing attempt in the New York zone and Stastny’s shot then went off the skate of goalie Ilya Sorokin. Ball game.
Andersen said he momentarily stayed in place by the Canes’ net after the Stastny goal.
“I knew the play was pretty close to being offsides,” Andersen said Sunday. “I didn’t want to get too far ahead of myself, just in case.”
The Hurricanes had a power-play goal waved off their Game 5 loss when the Isles won a coach’s challenge that Stefan Noesen, the eventual goal-scorer, had been offside entering the zone. No one challenged the Stastny goal.
“Then it was awesome,” Andersen said.
Chatfield’s play was another display of his rapid acceleration and determination. Horvat is not a slow man but Chatfield was faster, even as many Islanders fans in UBS Arena booed the icing call.
“Those are the little things that no one really talks about,” Andersen said. “That’s one of the small plays that makes sure (the Islanders) can’t change and maybe they’re a little more tired than they would have been.
“It’s almost like a butterfly effect where the next thing leads to another and all of a sudden you get ‘Stas’ with the puck and he throws it on net.”
Leaning on experience
The goal came from the Canes’ fourth line, playing with the third defensive pairing. While some coaches might shorten their bench in overtime, Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour was mindful of the team’s energy-sapping push in the third period and who he would have on the ice.
“Experience matters. They’re not afraid of the moment,” Brind’Amour said of Stastny and Stepan, two veteran forwards. “So whenever you can get those guys in there you’re not worried.”
The Hurricanes will face either the New Jersey Devils or New York Rangers in the next round — the two play Game 7 of their series Monday. The NHL has not released a schedule for the second round, but it’s likely Game 1 for the Canes will be Wednesday.
Brind’Amour said having extra days to prepare should be beneficial — maybe more so from the mental side than the physical, he said. The Canes, off the ice Saturday and Sunday, practice Monday at PNC Arena.
Injuries have taken away forwards Max Pacioretty, Andrei Svechnikov and Teuvo Teravainen. With them, the path might have been easier to tread. Without them, it will continue to be a grind for the Hurricanes.
“I don’t know how many teams can lose three top players up front. That’s a whole line,” Brind’Amour said. “And then expect to win in the playoffs? That’s really hard, but somehow we managed to do it.
“That says more about what’s still left in the room, really, in my opinion. Obviously, we did it, so there’s no reason why we can’t keep doing it. There’s definitely a belief in what’s left in that room.”
