It wasn’t easy for the Carolina Hurricanes to begin the NHL playoffs. In the opening game of their playoff series, the Hurricanes defeated the New York Islanders 3-1 thanks to goals from Stefan Noesen early in the third period and a standout performance from Frederik Andersen in goal.
34 saves were made by Andersen, one of which was vital when he was down in the crease early in the third. Andersen held steady against the Islanders’ late-season momentum, which had secured them a postseason spot, despite their impressive performance, outshooting the Hurricanes by nine.
Defenseman Brady Skjei stated, “Freddie has always been there for us and made the big saves when needed. We need to do a better job supporting him.” “We don’t want to rely too much on our goalie,” Skjei said.
At 3:44 of the third period, Noesen scored the game-winning goal by grabbing a loose puck close to the net and putting it past Semyon Varlamov. With 1:32 left, Martin Necas scored an empty-net goal from beyond the blue line to complete the victory.
The second game of the best-of-7 first-round series will take place on Monday night.
Islanders’ rookie Kyle MacLean scored in the first period, nudging a loose puck past Andersen after a scramble to tie the score. Varlamov made 23 saves, but the Islanders couldn’t capitalize on the few opportunities Andersen left at the other end.
One of the most intense moments came when Andersen fell in the crease after slipping on teammate Brett Pesce’s skate. As Noah Dobson hit the post, the puck slid back to him, but Andersen managed to bat it away while lying on the ice.
Andersen said he “tried to get close to the puck and do something about it.” Islanders coach Patrick Roy also highlighted this moment.
“I’m encouraged because I thought we played an excellent game,” Roy said. “We did many good things out there, and it was a hard-fought game. But we had our chances, and that’s frustrating.”
The Islanders have made the playoffs five times in the last six years, although it wasn’t easy this time. They faced challenges throughout the season, including a coaching change in January (firing Lane Lambert) and a six-game losing streak in mid-March.
However, they won eight of their last nine games to secure a playoff spot. The Hurricanes made it to the playoffs for the sixth year in a row. They were seen as the top pick to win the Stanley Cup, according to Bet MGM Sportsbook.
Having most of their players healthy—unlike the previous two seasons—fueled their optimism. Prior to the trade deadline, they bolstered their roster even further by bringing in Jake Guentzel and Evgeny Kuznetsov.
In just 95 seconds, Kuznetsov scored for Carolina in his debut postseason game with the franchise and celebrated like a bird. He did, however, label the team’s performance in the opening forty minutes as “unacceptable.”
“Many things went wrong,” Kuznetsov remarked. In some aspects, it seemed as though they were outperforming us and they outshot us. However, our squad is strong, and after forty minutes, we got back together. We fixed what we knew needed to be fixed.
Centre Jean-Gabriel Pageau was hurt during Wednesday’s regular-season finale against Pittsburgh, so the Islanders had to play without him. As a result, Kyle MacLean was moved up to the third line. However, Jesper Fast, a forward, was not available for the Hurricanes due to an injury sustained during Carolina’s game versus Columbus.
