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The Carolina Hurricanes are heading on the road with a 2-0 series lead, following a 4-3 overtime win against the New York Islanders last night.
Carolina got on the board early once again, with Paul Stastny tipping in a shot from Jaccob Slavin. Then after a Hurricanes' power play later in the frame (which was partially negated by a Teuvo Teravainen penalty), Carolina did have a few good chances right at the end of the frame but couldn't beat Sorokin. As that was going on, Jordan Staal was also sent to the ice by Matt Martin on hard hit from behind and did stay down for a bit, but stayed in the game.
Then in the second frame, the Hurricanes benefitted from a wild play, as the Islanders’ Sebastian Aho just swung at a dump in and put it right at Ilya Sorokin, beating his own netminder to put Carolina ahead by two.
However, the Islanders responded quickly, with Kyle Palmieri coming out from behind the net and beating Antti Raanta. The goal let New York back into the game a bit and then late in the frame, Mathew Barzal just wired a shot past Raanta, tying the game before intermission.
Things continued to fall apart a bit in the third period, as Brock Nelson beat Martin Necas in the neutral zone and fired a shot past Raanta, putting the Islanders ahead by one. The Hurricanes did respond though and only a few minutes later, Jaccob Slavin banked a shot off Raanta to tie things back up again.
It opened the door for the Hurricanes once again and the game continued to overtime – and in the extra frame, Jordan Staal found Jesper Fast with an excellent cross-ice pass. Fast was able to quickly pick a corner from there, giving the Hurricanes the 2-0 series lead.
With the win, the Hurricanes keep their home ice advantage and head to New York with a chance to take a stranglehold on the series. If they take even one of the next two against the Islanders, they’re setting themselves up in an excellent spot.
At the same time, there were some negatives for the Hurricanes in the win.
Most importantly, the team will now be without Teuvo Teravainen for the foreseeable future. His hand was broken off a slash late in the third period and he’ll miss the rest of the series.
While Teravainen has had a poor year, it’s still yet another huge blow to Carolina’s forward group. Without Andrei Svechnikov, Max Pacioretty and now Teuvo Teravainen as well, Carolina’s offense is seriously depleted. This is who's relied heavily on Sebastian Aho and Martin Necas for offense and now losing the team's third-highest producer available doesn't help.
The Hurricanes also didn’t necessarily put together as strong of a game. They were outplayed through stretches at even strength and even while going 1-for-6 on the power play, the goal they did get was a complete fluke. I’d also note Antti Raanta didn’t look as sharp.
At the same time, Carolina got the result they needed. They’re in a great spot right now in the series and have a chance to steal a game on the road. That said, they did lose all six of their playoff games on the road last year, which helped contribute to their early exit, so it’s at least a storyline to track as they head to New York.
Game 3 is set for tomorrow night.
supersurvey.com
OTHER ARTICLES FROM APRIL
Hurricanes sweep weekend back-to-back, closing in on Metro Division title
Hurricanes blow lead against Senators, rebound for overtime win
Hurricanes shut out by Predators as lack of scoring remains an issue
Hurricanes lose to Sabres, unable to build momentum down the stretch
Hurricanes split back-to-back, hold division lead with one game remaining
Canes beat Panthers to clinch Metro, will face Islanders in first round
Hurricanes vs. Islanders: Quest for the Cup begins
Hurricanes hold off Islanders for Game 1 win 
Carolina Hurricanes Blogger • 
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