RALEIGH, N.C. — The Islanders played incredibly well until the moment it became impossible to score.
They ended their season Tuesday night after clawing their way back from an early deficit before the third period began.
They lost 6-3 in five games to a superior Carolina Hurricanes team in a series that followed a through line of games and seasons. It’s so close that it feels like my heart is going to be torn apart.
They’ve given in, and the series’ most successful era since Dynasty may be over.
Personally, each game in this series was close enough for me to believe the Islanders had a chance to pull off an incredible comeback.
However, overall, a clear conclusion was reached. The Hurricanes are the better team and will likely face the Rangers in the second round.
In fact, the Hurricanes were very good in this series, winning in five games despite playing very little resemblance to their best hockey. But in the decisive moments of almost every match, they were the more resilient and more desperate team.
After the Islanders were down 3-1, a comeback appeared to be in sight when Casey Cizikas stumbled and capitalized on a rare error by Frederik Andersen to tie the game at 3 with 22 seconds left in the second period. He forced Cizikas to shoot into an open net.
It took just five minutes of the third period for Carolina to grab that momentum and shatter it.
Jack Drury broke the tie 4:36 into the third, recovering a spilled puck and scoring from the left faceoff dot. And just eight seconds later, after the puck was rimmed around the boards after a faceoff, it took a strange flight, caught Semyon Varlamov off his feet, and Stefan Noesen tipped it into the net.
Seth Jarvis added a sixth point on an empty netter, but the damage was already done.
It was the second time in the series that Carolina scored two points within 10 seconds, and both scores included the winning goal.
It was the second time of the night that the Islanders collapsed in a short period of time, but the first time was much slower, 3 minutes and 13 seconds into the game.
The Islanders took the lead 1:23 into the game with a snipe from the left by Teuvo Teravainen, but they were given an unnecessary penalty 1:56 into the game when Andrei Svechnikov threw the puck. He later allowed a goal on the power play. He flipped off Robert Bortuzzo’s stick and found the back of the net.
After the Islanders quickly pulled one back with a power-play goal from Mike Riley, Carolina’s pressure continued to culminate for another 10 minutes, resulting in a penalty shot when Alexander Romanov covered the puck in the crease. did.
Evgeny Kuznetsov defeated Varlamov to make it 3-1. It was a rather generous score for a team that trailed 21-4 in the first 20 minutes.
But Brock Nelson’s goal off a rush 3:47 into the second half helped the Islanders regain their footing, and Cizikas’ goal late in the second half gave them faith.
It’s enough to hurt.
It’s been three seasons since the Islanders last won a playoff series, and in those three seasons there’s overwhelming evidence that this core is no longer a Stanley Cup contender.
If general manager Lou Lamoriello keeps his job — ownership able to hire a full-time coach in January is a big indicator of his safety — that shouldn’t be treated as a stone-cold guarantee. No – he will have a chance to rebuild the team. Either make a roster change or recommit to a core that has lost more games than it won this season, then quietly exit in the first round.
There are also expiring contracts and key players, especially Matt Martin, who missed Tuesday’s game with a lower-body injury, and Cal Clutterbuck, who could be on his way. However, it is quite possible that maintaining the status quo is the organization’s top priority and the only changes made are minor or imposed in the form of retirements.
The sore question of how to move forward from here is where the conversation will go on Wednesday morning.
For the rest of Tuesday night, the Islanders could do nothing but writhe in pain.
