Islanders blow 3-0 lead, fall to Hurricanes 5-3 in Game 2
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Sebastian Aho and Jordan Martinook scored 9 seconds apart late in the third period to help the Carolina Hurricanes complete a comeback from three goals down to beat the New York Islanders 5-3 on Monday night, taking a 2-0 lead in their first-round playoff series in improbable fashion.
Aho struck first by redirecting Andrei Svechnikov‘s shot at the right post behind Semyon Varlamov with 2:15 remaining to tie the game at 3. After an Islanders giveaway on the ensuing faceoff, Martinook raced down to beat Noah Dobson to the puck along the boards and then pushed it toward the same post from behind the net.
The puck banged off Varlamov’s left skate and slipped into the net for the 4-3 lead with 2:06 to go, sending the Hurricanes players mobbing a jumping Martinook amid a roof-blowing roar from a shocked home crowd.
Jake Guentzel added an empty-net score in the final minute to seal this one, which ended with frustrations flaring for the Islanders, several scrums between the teams and multiple players taking early walks to the locker room.
The series shifts north for the next two games, with Game 3 set for Thursday night.
Kyle Palmieri, Bo Horvat and Anders Lee scored as the New York Islanders built a 3-0 lead early in the second period.