Getty The New York Islanders surrendered a 3-0 lead to the Carolina Hurricanes in 5-3 loss
If you tuned out after the first 24 minutes of play of Game 2 between the New York Islanders and the Carolina Hurricanes, you missed one the greatest and most unique comebacks in Stanley Cup Playoffs history.
The Islanders took a commanding 3-0 lead before the fourth minute of the second period but that wasn’t enough to stop the Hurricanes from mounting a five-goal comeback that started 13 minutes into the second frame and saw the hosts score 4 unanswered goals in the third and final period.
Islanders hockey baby. An all time collapse. Just pathetic. #Isles
Former NHL player and current TNT analyst Paul Bissonnette shared his thoughts about the Islanders’ “all-time collapse,” calling it “pathetic” right before Hurricanes forward Jake Guenzel scored the fifth and final goal of the game on New York’s empty net.
“This is a full-blown meltdown right now,” Bissonnette said in a video posted on X on April 23. “Three-goal third period.
“The Islanders… you guys should be [2-0] in this (expletive) series. You were 3-0 in this game…,” Bissonnette continued, “Oh my god.”
Islanders Go 3-0 Up Early, Crumble Late Against Hurricanes
Knowing how Game 2 ended and looking at the final statistics, the 5-3 outcome isn’t surprising. Without knowing the sequence of goals or the order in which they were scored, not many people would be shocked by the result.
The Islanders were out-shot 39-12 by the Hurricanes. Carolina won 41 of 28 faceoffs, had 5 power-play opportunities against a single one by New York, and blasted the Islanders with attempts forcing them to block 36 shots throughout the game.
TWO GOALS IN 10 SECONDS TO TAKE THE LEAD
IT’S PANDEMONIUM IN RALEIGHWOOD
“We’ll take the two days, use them to our advantage,” Islanders’ Anders Lee told reporters after the loss on April 22. “Get home, get in front of our fans. Let them give us some more juice.
“This thing’s long from over. But just right now, this one hurts the gut.”
The Islanders went up 3-0 thanks to goals by Kyle Palmieri, Bo Horvat, and Lee. The first two arrived in the first period followed by the third already in the second frame on a power-play opportunity.
After that, however, everything went wrong for the Isles.
“Oh no, here comes the empty-net (goal by) Guentzel,” Bissonnette said on the video he shared as Carolina added the cherry on top of an impressive comeback, “Islanders Hockey. Oh my god, that’s humor.
“That’s hockey humor at its finest.”
Islanders Couldn’t Stop Hurricanes’ Furious Comeback
The Hurricanes (111 points, 52-23-7) entered the playoffs with the second-best record among Eastern Conference teams only behind Metropolitan Divison rivals the New York Rangers. The Islanders, on the other hand, barely made the playoffs with the second-fewest points (94) among qualified teams.
That gap in the standing was as large as the distance between both teams on the ice on Monday following an erratic 24 minutes of play put together by the Canes.
After getting down three goals, Carolina started to turn things around slowly but surely at the end of the second frame with a goal scored by Teuvo Teravainen at the 13:01 minute on a power-play chance. Seth Jarvis scored the second goal for the Canes at 10:43 of the third, and then Carolina made history with their next two goals.
Hurricanes’ two goals in nine seconds in the third period (Aho and Martinook) were fastest two playoff goals in Hurricanes/Whalers history, topping goals 25 seconds apart by Aho and Foegele in 2021 first round vs. Predators (they were in same division that season)
#NHLStats
The two goals scored by Sebastian Aho and Jordan Martinook in a span of nine seconds to put Carolina ahead were the “fastest two playoff goals in Hurricanes history,” according to Tom Gulitti of NHL.com.
Guentzel’s empty-net goal with 55 seconds left in the game raised the tension inside PNC Arena as the frustrated Islanders tried to fight the Hurricanes on the ice before the contest was over.
GUENTZEL ICES GAME 2 FOR THE CANES 🥶
New York veteran Kyle Palmiere pushed Guentzel and although things could have escalated quickly, nothing remarkably violent happened after that little fracas with the referees aptly controlling the situation.
Hurricanes Won the Game But Lost Brett Pesce
The Hurricanes are in a prime position to send the Islanders on vacation quickly following their win on Monday to put up a 2-0 lead in the first-round series against New York.
That being said, when Carolina arrives in New York for Game 3 they might not have one of their defensemen available, making things a bit harder for them going forward.
Second-pair, right-shot defenseman Bratt Pesce left Game 2 with an undisclosed lower-body injury and didn’t return to the ice. At the time of this writing on early Tuesday, April 23, there is no information about when Pesce suffered the injury nor an update on his status.
Pesce will get checked out tmrw. “That’s not looking good,” Brind’Amour said.
“That’s not looking good,” Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour told reporters after the game, via Cory Lavalette of the North State Journal.
Pesce appeared on 70 regular-season games before the playoffs scoring 3 goals and providing 10 assists while logging an average of 20:17 minutes of playing time. He finished the year with 113 blocked shots and 25 hits.
In Carolina’s Game 1 win over New York, Pesce logged 19:49 TOI while assisting on a goal scored by Martin Necas. The Hurricanes won that game 3-1 taking a 1-0 series lead that is now sitting at 2-0 entering Game 3 scheduled for Thursday, April 25.
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Islanders Blasted for ‘Pathetic’ Collapse to Hurricanes