2023-04-18 01:42:00
Summary
Led by two power-play goals, the Carolina Hurricanes defeated the New York Islanders 2-1 to win the first game of this first-round series played in Raleigh.
The Hurricanes were quick to strike in this game. On a five-man attack, Sebastian Aho surprised Ilya Sorokin with a powerful one-timer from the right circle at 3:47 of the first period.
With his 19th career playoff goal, Aho joined Eric Staal as the franchise’s all-time leading scorer at the spring ball.
The Hurricanes’ massive offense got another chance early in the second period. Stefan Noesen deftly deflected Brent Burns’ shot in front of the net to double their lead. Burns got a second assist on the play, as did Martin Necas.
The Islanders’ reply came 24 seconds later. Ryan Pulock took advantage of Antti Raanta’s largesse to breathe life into the Islanders.
The Canes multiplied the chances of scoring in this meeting, but Sorokin was sparkling in front of the net of New Yorkers. He also reserved a nice save for Seth Jarvis in the last third on a dangerous shot on reception from the striker. The Russian finished the match with 35 saves.
The Islanders knocked on the door with less than 20 seconds left in the game, but Raanta closed the door to give the Canes a Game 1 win. The Finn proved his head coach Rod Brind’Amour right by stopping 25 of the 26 shots aimed at him.
“There were a few shots that I couldn’t see, but our guys blocked them,” Raanta said. I think most of the time we played very well in net. So I had to make the first stop and the guys helped me. »
Mathew Barzal was back in the Islanders roster after missing the last 23 games with a lower-body injury. New York will have to find a way to break through the Canes defense to hope to win the series.
“I think we just have to find a better way to get a little cleaner, get some passes,” Islanders defenseman Noah Dobson said. There is not a lot of space on the ground. It will be like this for the whole series. We’re going to have to find a way out of this. »
The two teams will meet again on Wednesday for the second duel.
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