The Skinny: Carolina 5, Isles 2

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Eastern Conference Round 1, Game 3

Carolina 5, Isles 2   

Carolina Leads Series 3-1

Seth Jarvis scored twice, and Sebastian Aho added three points as the Carolina Hurricanes grabbed a three game to one lead in the series with 5-2 victory over the Islanders before a sellout crowd of 17,255 at UBS Arena. 

For the second time in the series, Carolina grabbed a 2-0 lead with a pair of power play goals; however, this time the Isles could not get back in the game as the Canes had leads of 4-0 and 5-1 in the third period.

The Isles will look to stave off elimination in game five on Tuesday in Raleigh.  If they do so, the series would return to UBS Arena on Friday. 

The Scoring:

1st Period

Seth Jarvis (1) Stefan Noesen (1), Brent Burns (5) 04:05 CAR 1,NYI 0 PPG

2nd Period

Martin Necas (1) Stefan Noesen (2), Sebastian Aho (2) 01:15 CAR 2,NYI 0 PPG

Sebastian Aho (2) Mackenzie MacEachern (1) 13:30 CAR 3,NYI 0 

3rd Period

Seth Jarvis (2) Sebastian Aho (3), Brett Pesce (1) 01:20 CAR 4,NYI 0

Adam Pelech (1) Brock Nelson (2) 03:14 CAR 4,NYI 1

Mackenzie MacEachern (1) Brady Skjei (1) 14:01 CAR 5,NYI 1

Bo Horvat (1) Scott Mayfield (2) 17:57 CAR 5,NYI 2 SHG

The Series 

Game 1: Carolina 2, ISLES 1

Game 2: Carolina 4, ISLES 3 (OT)

Game 3: ISLES 5, Carolina 1

Game 4: Carolina 5, ISLES 2

Game 5: Tuesday at Carolina 7:00

Game 6: (if needed) Friday at UBS Arena

Game 7: (if needed) Sunday, April 30 at Carolina

The Skinny    

The Isles trailed 1-0 after the first period; it was the 24th  consecutive playoff game that the Isles have not led after the first session. That is the longest such streak since Montreal Maroons had a 26-game streak from 1928-1935…Antti Raanta is 8-0 in home playoff games for Carolina, but this was his first road win in eight tries (1-7) on the road… Ryan Pulock had 6 shots, 4 hits and two blocks; he leads the team in both hits (23) and blocks (11) … The Isles have not scored a first period goal in the series; going back to 2021 the Isles have not scored a first period goal in nine straight playoff games.…Bo Horvat's shorthanded goal was the 1,000th playoff goal in Islander history…The Isles allowed a 5-on-3 goal in a playoff game for the first time since May 5, 2013, vs. Pittsburgh…Sebastian Aho recorded his 20th career playoff goal to take sole possession of the franchise record; he also holds the record for both assists and points.

The Injury

Carolina's Jack Drury played only 1:19 before leaving the game on a hit from Ryan Pulock.  Pulock was assessed a boarding penalty and the Canes scored on the subsequent 5-on-3.

First Times in a Long Time

• The Isles allowed a 5-on-3 goal in a playoff game for the first time since May 5, 2013, vs. Pittsburgh.

• The Hurricanes ended an eight-game road playoff losing streak.  It was their first road win since they beat the Isles in the final playoff game ever played at Barclays Center (4-28-2019). 

3 FOR 30

Bo Horvat scored a late shorthanded goal.  It was only the third time in the last thirty years that the Isles scored a playoff shorthanded goal (Kyle Okposo 5/5/2013 vs PIT; Josh Bailey 8-12-2020 in Bubble vs WSH.

Parise to Pulock to Cizikas

Casey Cizikas scored the first Islander playoff goal at UBS Arena on Friday; JP Parise had done so at Nassau Coliseum while Ryan Pulock did it at Barclays Center.

Pulock the Playoff Scorer

Ryan Pulock is 5th among Islander defensemen in career playoff goals:

1. Denis Potvin 56 

2. Ken Morrow 11

3. Mike McEwen 9 

        Tomas Jonsson 9

5. Ryan Pulock 8

The four players ahead of him share 14 Stanley Cup rings with the Islanders.

Pulock the Playoff Hitter

In regular season play, Ryan Pulock averages 1.6 hits (703 hits in 428 games).  In the playoffs, Pulock has 173 hits in 59 games (2.9 per game), and he holds the Isles career record (real-time era) for playoff hits.

Most Hits by an Isles Defenseman (Playoffs, since 2007)

• Johnny Boychuk  10  4/23/2015 @ WSH

• Ryan Pulock 9 4/17/2023@ CAR 

• Ryan Pulock 8 5/16/2021@ PIT

• Ryan Pulock 8 5/20/2021vs PIT

Going Wild

Wild Card teams are 10-18 in 28 previous series against division champions. This is the second time that the Isles have qualified as a Wild Card; they defeated Florida in six games in 2016 for their first playoff series win in 23 years. (The Wild Card has existed since 2014, but it was not used in 2020 or 2021).

The Goals (Series)

Isles        0-4-7-0=11

Carolina  3-5-3-1=12

The Shots (Series)

Isles       34-37-44-3=118

Carolina 48-45-36-4=133

Led/Tied/Trailed

Game 1: Led: 0:00, Tied: 4:11, Trailed: 55:49

Game 2: Led: 3:01, Tied:28:12,  Trailed 33:50

Game 3: Led 7:58, Tied 52:02. Trailed 0:00

Game 4: Led: 0:00, Tied: 4:05, Trailed: 55:55

Series:   Led: 10:59, Tied: 88:30, Trailed: 145:34

Playoffs All-Time

The Isles fall to 173-144 in 317 all-time playoff games. They are 97-54 at home (88-44 at the Coliseum, 2-5 at Barclays, 5-2 in Toronto, 1-2 in Edmonton and 1-1 at UBS Arena) and 76-90 on the road. In this year's playoffs, the Isles are 1-1 at home and 0-2 on the road.

Offense from Defense

• Today:  1-1-2

• Playoffs 3-8-11

The Isle have scored 11 goals in the series and a defenseman has recorded exactly one point on each goal.

Home is Where the Fans Are

The Isles have played 82 regular season games at UBS Arena and recorded 60 sellouts of 17,255.  The Isles have sold out 2 playoff games as well. 

Overtime is Our Time

The Isles are 40-23 (.635) all-time in overtime, including 20-13 at home. The Isles are 0-1 in overtime in 2023 and have gone 11-10 in 21 overtime games since 2015. The Isles are the best overtime team in Stanley Cup history: 

• Isles 40-23 .635 (0-1 this year)

• Carolina 28-17 .622 (1-0 this year)

• Anaheim 24-15 .615

• Colorado 46-33  .582

• Tampa Bay 23-17 .575 (0-1 this year)

The Isles are tied for the best road percentage in Stanley Cup history:

• Isles 20-10 .667  (0-1 this year)

• Tampa Bay 14-7 .667

• Anaheim 15-8 .652

• Colorado 26-14 .650

• Carolina 13-9 .591

The Isles' winning percentage is tied-3rd at home in overtime games (teams playing at least 5 home games)

• Carolina 15-8 .652  (1-0 this year)

• Chicago 30-18-1 .612

• Isles 20-13 .606

• Buffalo 20-13 .606

• Montreal 46-29-1 .605

Overtime vs. Carolina

The Isles are 0-2 all-time in playoff overtime games vs. Carolina:

4/26/19 Vs Jordan Staal L (0-1) 04:04  (Brooklyn*)

4/19/23 @ Jesper Fast L (3-4)  05:03

*It was the last overtime game and penultimate playoff game at Barclays Center.

Sweet Lou

Lou Lamoriello has the second-highest post-season win total for any general manager in NHL history:

1. Glen Sather 187-137

2. Lou Lamoriello 170-148

Sather (324) is also the only GM with more playoff games than Lamoriello (318).

First Things First

The Isles are 1-0 when scoring first and are 0-3 when allowing the opening goal.

The Shots

Isles        9-9-11=29

Carolina  7-12-10=29

Shots by Game

Game 1:  Isles 26, Carolina 37

Game 2:  Isles 26, Carolina 36

Game 3:  Isles 37, Carolina 31

Game 4: Isles 29, Carolina 29

Series:    Isles 118, Carolina 133

The Isles are 1-0 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1 when the shots are even and 0-2 when they are out-shot.

In the Nets

Ilya Sorokin made 24 saves; he is 1-3 this year and 5-4 in his playoff career.   

Antti Raanta made 26 saves; he is 3-1 this year and 9-7 in his playoff career.

Special Teams

The Isles were 0-3 on the power play (5:40); Carolina was 2-5 on the power play (7:44).The Canes scored 1:26 into a 5-on-3 and allowed a late shorthanded goal.

Power Plays by Game

• Game 1: Isles 0-4 (8:00, 4 shots), Carolina 2-4 (4:52, 5 shots)

• Game 2: Isles 0-0 (0:00, 0 shots), Carolina 1-6 (9:18, 8 shots)

• Game 3: Isles 1-5 (9:59, 10 shots), Carolina 0-4 (6:02, 3 shots)

• Game 4: Isles 0-3 (5:40, 2 shots),Carolina 2-5 (7:44, 4 shots)

• Series: Isles 1-12 (23:49, 16 shots), Carolina 5-19 (27:56, 20 shots)

The Isles are 1-0 when they score at least one power play goal and 0-3 when they do not. The Isles are 0-3 when they allow at least one power play goal and 1-0 when they do not.

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 1-1 when they score at least three goals and are 0-2 when they do not.

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 0-2 in games decided by a single goal (0-1 in regulation and 0-1 in overtime). The Isles are 0-0 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Ryan Pulock (24:44);  Carolina: Brent Burns (24:39) Skjei (22:41)

Brock Nelson led Isles forwards with 17:32 of ice-time. 

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Noah Dobson (0-1), Scott Mayfield (0-1), Adam Pelech (1-0), Ryan Pulock (0-1)

Face-offs

Isles 32, Carolina 28 (53%)

Bo Horvat won 14 of 22 for the Isles; Sebastian Aho won 7 of 12 for Carolina. 

Face-offs by Game

• Game 1: Isles 35, Carolina 37 (48%)

• Game 2: Isles 30, Carolina 26 (54%) 

• Game 3: Isles 31, Carolina 32 (49%)

• Game 4: Isles 32, Carolina 28 (53%)

• Series  : Isles 128, Carolina 123 (51%)

Hit Count

Isles 32 (Cal Clutterbuck -5)

Carolina 42 (Four with 5)

Hits by Game

• Game 1: Isles 44, Carolina 39

• Game 2: Isles 54. Carolina 28

• Game 3: Isles 43, Carolina 28

• Game 4: Isles 32, Carolina 42

• Series   : Isles 173, Carolina 137

Fights 

None. Playoff total: 0

Blocked Shots

Isles 20 (Scott Mayfield -5)

Carolina 21 (Two with 3)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 57, Carolina 57

Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 46, Carolina 52

Corsi Game by Game:

Game 1: (All) Isles 57, Carolina 73; (5-on-5) Isles 42, Carolina 62

Game 2: (All) Isles 58, Carolina 73; (5-on-5) Isles 55, Carolina 53

Game 3; (All) Isles 66, Carolina 55; (5-on-5) Isles 46, Carolina 45

Game 4: (All) Isles 57, Carolina 57; (5-on-5) Isles 46, Carolina 52

Series: (All) Isles 238, Carolina 258; (5-on-5) Isles 189, Carolina 212

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Noah Dobson +10

Carolina: Sebastian Aho +8

Scratches

Oliver Wahlstrom-IR), Samuel Bolduc, Parker Wotherspoon, Ross Johnston, Simon Holmstrom, Jakub Skarek

Playoff Games Lost: 6

The Ironman (Playoffs)

Matt Martin played in his 77th consecutive Islander playoff game; he has played in every Islander playoff game since 2013.

Challenges

Isles: 0 successful, 0 failures  

Opponents: 0 successful, 0 failures

League reviews: 0  

Quickies

The Isles have scored two goals in under a minute twice during this postseason.   They did so seven times in the regular season. 

:44 – Game 3 vs. CAR  (Kyle Palmieri and Matt Martin)

:16 – Game 3 vs. CAR (Scott Mayfield (EN) and Anders Lee)

Multi-Goal 3rd Period Comeback Wins

There has not been a multi-goal third period comeback in this year's playoffs.

The Isles came from two goals behind after two periods to win four times and allowed the opposition to do so once in the regular season.

 

Last Minute Heroes:

There has not been a tying or winning goal in the final three minutes of the third period in the playoffs,

In the regular season, the Isles scored four goals and allowed one goal in the final three minutes of the third period that were either the winning goal or forced overtime. 

Overtime Winners

Playoffs:  For 0, Vs. 1.   (Jesper Fast R1G2 vs CAR 5:03)

Regular Season: For 5, Vs. 4

Active Islander Playoff Leaders: (As NYI)

Games: 

Matt Martin 77

Casey Cizikas 73

Josh Bailey 71

Brock Nelson 71

Cal Clutterbuck 69

Ryan Pulock 59

Scott Mayfield 55

Consecutive Games:

Matt Martin 77 (every game since start of 2013 playoffs)

Brock Nelson 66

Ryan Pulock 55

Mathew Barzal 53

Scott Mayfield 53

Goals:

Brock Nelson 24

Josh Bailey 16

Mathew Barzal 14

Jean-Gabriel Pageau 11

Cal Clutterbuck 10

Anders Lee 9

Kyle Palmieri 9

Ryan Pulock 8

Matt Martin 8

Casey Cizikas 6

Assists:

Josh Bailey 34

Mathew Barzal 25

Brock Nelson 20

Ryan Pulock 15

Jean-Gabriel Pageau 14

Scott Mayfield 12

Adam Pelech 11

Casey Cizikas 11

Noah Dobson 9

Points:

Josh Bailey 50

Brock Nelson 44

Mathew Barzal 39

Jean-Gabriel Pageau 25

Ryan Pulock 23

Cal Clutterbuck 17

Anders Lee 17

Casey Cizikas 17

Penalty Minutes:

Matt Martin 125

Cal Clutterbuck 82

Casey Cizikas 60

Scott Mayfield 47

Anders Lee 40

Mathew Barzal 39

+/-

Scott Mayfield +22

Jean-Gabriel Pageau +18

Adam Pelech +9

Kyle Palmieri +8

Cal Clutterbuck +5

PP Goals

Mathew Barzal 4

Ryan Pulock 3

Josh Bailey 3

Anders Lee 3

Brock Nelson 3 

Kyle Palmieri 2

Oliver Wahlstrom 1

SH Goals

Josh Bailey 1

Bo Horvat 1

 

GW Goals

Brock Nelson 7

Ryan Pulock 3

Josh Bailey 3

Kyle Palmieri 2

Mathew Barzal 2

Scott Mayfield 1

Casey Cizikas 1

Matt Martin 1

OT Goals 

Josh Bailey 2

Mathew Barzal 1

Kyle Palmieri 1

Casey Cizikas 1

Goaltending

Ilya Sorokin 5-4 2.86 GAA, .920 save percentage.

Semyon Varlamov 18-14  2.30 GAA, .922 save percentage.

(Varlamov's 18 wins is second in club history to Billy Smith's 88. Among goalies who have played at least ten post-season games, Varlamov has the best goals against average and the best save percentage in club history.)

Series Stats

Carolina leads the series, 3 games to 1. 

The Isles are 1-7 all-time in playoff games against Carolina, including 1-3 at home.

The Isles are 2-13 in best-of-7 playoff series when they trail a series 3-1, with the wins coming in 1975 vs. Pittsburgh and 1987 vs. Washington.

UP NEXT

TUESDAY, APRIL 25th  -  ISLES AT CAROLINA 7:00pm

[MSGSN (Pre-game at 6:30), ESPN2, WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN Radio]

The Isles will look to even the series as they host the Canes in Game 4.

The Isles are 6-9 in game 5's when facing elimination, with all six wins coming on the road, including the Jordan Eberle double OT game in the Bubble against Tampa Bay on September 15, 2020. 

Brendan Burke, Butch Goring and Thomas Hickey will have the Isles broadcast on MSGSN.  The game will also air nationally on ESPN2.

Eric Hornick has been the statistician on Islander home game telecasts since 1982. Information contained in "The Skinny" has been gathered from various sources. Follow Eric @ehornick on Twitter & on his blog www.nyiskinny.com

Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since January 21, 1982. Visit my blog: NYISkinny.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick