Carolina Hurricanes salvage a point at home in frustrating loss to New York Islanders
The Carolina Hurricanes played hard and played well and had little go their way Thursday, but ended the game with a point.
That was the opinion of Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour, who had just watched his team tie the score in the final seconds of regulation — that did go the Canes way — but then lose to the New York Islanders in overtime, 5-4.
With goalie Pyotr Kochetkov pulled for a sixth attacker, the Canes’ Sebastian Aho scored with 2.5 seconds left in the third period. Jordan Staal got the puck to the net and Aho poked it through goalie Semyon Varlamov.
With PNC Arena still rocking, the game went to overtime, but this one did not go the Canes’ way. After forward Seth Jarvis turned the puck over in the Isles zone, Mathew Barzal won it for New York, taking a pass from Noah Dobson to hand the Canes (13-8-1) their first OT loss of the season.
“I tried to make a little extra play, get too cute and it screwed us in the end,” said Jarvis said, who had the puck knocked away by Dobson. “It’s nice to score late and know we can come back but ...”
While Barzal had a goal and three assists, Varlamov was named the game’s first star after stopping 39 of 43 shots. Kochetkov, starting his third game in a row, took the loss after giving up five goals on 16 shots — the Isles scored twice on three shots in the second period and had four shots in the third.
“That was one of the better games we’ve played all year,” Brind’Amour said. “It’s tough. I loved the way we played. Every part of that game was solid, tons of scoring opportunities, two or three goalposts.
“You can’t do much better than that. I’m really happy with the group. They fought to the end. If we can play like that we’re in good shape.”
The Isles (9-7-6) took advantage of an unusual delay of game penalty against Staal — the Canes captain swatting the puck over the glass with his glove in the defensive zone — to take a 4-3 lead with a power-play goal by Kyle Palmieri at 6:41 of the third period.
“I obviously was trying to knock it down and it just it just hit off the outside of my hand,” Staal said. “Obviously I wasn’t trying to do that.”
Jack Drury’s second goal of the season, on a setup pass from Stefan Noesen, tied the score 3-3 just 39 seconds into the third. Jalen Chatfield scored for Carolina in the first period and Staal in the second.
The Islanders trailed 1-0 in the first period and 2-1 in the second but made a paltry amount of shots count against Kochetkov.
Simon Holmstrom tied the score 2-2 with a shorthanded goal with four minutes left in the second — New York’s first shot of the period. Pierre Engvall then pushed the Isles ahead with a shot from the slot with 1:57 left — New York’s third and final shot of the period.
Three takeaways from the game:
Do shot totals matter?
The quantity was there, as usual for the Canes, but what about the quality?
The first period was a typical Hurricanes period. They looked to shoot early and often. They had 38 total attempts to the Isles’ 18. They had 18 scoring chances. They were in the New York zone a lot. They got too cute at times but got their opportunities.
And it was tied 1-1.
The Canes had 12 shots blocked — in the opening period. Varlamov, getting the start, did not seem overly stressed. He weathered the period well enough.
The Canes’ goal in the period came when. Chatfield, battling two Islanders in front of the crease, took a swipe at the puck, which bounced off Varlamov and over his head..
The Canes had 15 shots while allowing just three in the second, and trailed 3-2.
A question for the Canes: Would less be better? That is, fewer shots but more work put into getting better shots? It’s not as if the Canes are leading the league in scoring — they were 12th at 3.3 a game before Thursday.
Late slippage
Late-period lapses and goals allowed are almost always momentum-sappers and the Canes did it twice.
Bo Horvat scored for New York with two minutes left in the first period, which the Canes had controlled with sustained pressure in the Isles zone. Good pass from Barzal, who carried the puck into the zone, and good finish by Horvat breaking in behind defenseman Jaccob Slavin.
The Canes then had possession nearly all of the second period and had a 2-1 lead before Engvall took the puck off the wall and got off a shot from the slot with 1:57 left.
Pyotr plays, Raanta sits
Kochetkov made his third straight start for Canes. That’s good for Kochetkov, a young guy who likes the work, but what about Antti Raanta?
With Frederik Andersen out indefinitely with a blood-clotting issue, it was expected the Canes likely would go with a rotation of Kochetkov and Raanta. But since allowing eight goals in the 8-2 loss to Tampa Bay last week, Raanta has been the backup.
The loss to Tampa Bay was an exception for Raanta at PNC Arena, where he had won 14 in a row. Raanta is a veteran and a competitor known for his calm nature off the ice. One has to think he really wants back in.
“We’ve just got to get that consistency in that position, and I think we’re in real good shape,” Brind’Amour said.
This story was originally published November 30, 2023 at 10:30 PM.
