Carolina is one step closer to clinching a playoff spot
Fans at the Lenovo Center were treated to an entertaining game on Sunday evening.
After years of being used to seeing low-scoring and dragged out affairs between the Islanders and the Hurricanes, the two teams managed to score about as many goals as they did the entire playoff series they had against each other last season. While the Islanders kept coming, Carolina kept responding and were able to outlast the Isles 6-4.
Sebastian Aho had three points including a goal on the Power Play, his linemate Seth Jarvis had two scores with one coming shorthanded during a four minute double minor, and the Canes inch closer to officially securing their spot in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
It looked as if the Islanders were still feeling the effects of a wild loss to Tampa Bay on Saturday, as the Canes were able to quickly go up 2-0. First Mark Jankowski continued his white-hot scoring streak since being traded to Carolina. He started the entire play by retrieving the puck behind the Canes goal, getting it up the wall to end up on the stick of Eric Robinson in the offensive zone. Somehow Jankowski just skated unmarked from there straight to the goal and took a great pass from Robinson, potting it past Marcus Hogberg just 4:41 into the game.
On the ensuing face off, Jesperi Kotkaniemi—playing in place of Jordan Staal who is still smarting form a lower body injury—got the puck deep into the offensive zone, and Jordan Martinook was able to flip it over to Logan Stankoven who pushed it past Hogberg just 13 seconds after the first goal. Just like that it was 2-0 Carolina
The Canes, though, slipped as the desperate Islanders stormed back in their fight for the last Eastern Conference playoff spot. First, Pierre Engvall was able to get in front of a pass meant for Sean Walker, skate it in, and beat Pyotr Kochetkov just a minute after the Canes went up 2-0. The goal let the air out of the building, and then five minutes later the Islanders were able to tie it up thanks to a power play goal by Kyle Palmieri. The first period ended 2-2 despite the hot start.
The Islanders continued their pressure at the start of the second, and just 1:37 into the period Engvall was able to get his second of the night past Kochetkov and the Canes were now staring at a 3-2 deficit.
The Canes needed a spark, and would get it on a suddenly competent Power Play. A beautiful bit of passing around the top of the zone found a wide open Sebastian Aho whow was able to blast it by Hogberg and knot the score at three.
The game would go back and forth, but Jalen Chatfield would get called for a double minor high stick with about three minutes left in the second and the Canes’ penalty kill—clearly upset they gave up a power play goal—very quickly got it back thanks to a great give and go from Aho and Seth Jarvis. This time it was Jarvis’ turn to blast it past Hogberg, giving the Canes a 4-3 lead.
The Canes had seized momentum as the second ended, and the Islanders weren’t able to convert on the four minute double minor. They did, though, get one more wrist shot by Kochetkov early in the third to tie the score once more at four. The Canes weren’t going to be denied, though, as Dmitry Orlov would take a feed from Andrei Svechnikov and use a great screen in front of Hogberg to blast it by the Isles’ goalie. The Canes took a 5-4 lead and they wouldn’t trail again.
For the rest of the period Kochetkov buckled down and kept the Isles off the board, and before the Islanders could pull Hogberg, Jarvis would grab his second of the night thanks to another great pass from Aho. The Canes were now up 6-4, and despite a late power play for too many men, the Canes would kill it off and hold on to win.
The win marks the first for Kochetkov in two weeks, the 5-0 win against the Flyers on March 15th. Since then he had the 7-2 loss against the Kings, and the 3-1 loss to Nashville this past Tuesday. He appears to still be fighting his game since that drubbing in LA, but there were signs by the end of the third that he was rediscovering his game. He still has a few more games to get back on the hot streak he had prior to that drubbing, and perhaps securing a win will finally help.
Thanks to Montreal beating Florida earlier in the day, the Canes could not clinch a playoff spot but at this point it’s only a matter of time. The Canes are 17 points clear of the final spot with nine games to go, the same numbers as Montreal. With Montreal playing on Tuesday night, it’s possible that by the time the Canes step on the ice against Washington on Wednesday, the playoffs will be secured.
Carolina will now enjoy an extra day off before that Wednesday matchup, the last of this homestand before they go on a four game in seven days road swing against Detroit, Boston, Buffalo, and Washington. They currently stand nine points ahead of the Devils for second in the Metro with two games still in hand, and take a two point lead for second place in the Eastern Conference.