Good Morning, Islanders Country.
I probably would’ve signed up for that effort last night.
It was their best of the series, better than Game 1 and better than when they were leading 3-0 in Game 2. Unfortunately, playing well is not enough vs. Carolina.
Patrick Roy went with his flashy yet unpredictable “Ferrari” over his calm and comfortable “Cadillac,” which proved to be the wrong decision. As Butch Goring pointed out in the post-game, goalies have to make all the saves they’re supposed to make, and some they’re not supposed to make, and Ilya Sorokin didn’t do that.
Roy, rightfully so, wouldn’t critique Sorokin’s game during his post-game availability. His message was that they win and lose as a team, and he switched to Semyon Varlamov because he needed to change momentum. He left it at that.
Forget winning this series; to make this a long series, the Islanders needed to play well and either have some luck or for Carolina to get bad goaltending.
Neither has happened.
Frederick Andersen has been rock solid and made the big, game-changing saves - the saves you’re not supposed to make in Games 1 and 3. We knew there was a gap between the Islanders and the Canes, and the fact that Carolina feels they can play a lot better and are up 3-0 in the series speaks volumes as to how significant that gap is and how far the Isles need to come to compete with the best teams in the NHL. What they could do, if anything, to rectify that will be the topic once the season ends, which could now come as soon as Sunday.
Let’s dive in.
🏒 IN SHORT: The Carolina Hurricanes secured a commanding 3-0 series lead with a 3-2 win over the New York Islanders at UBS Arena on Thursday night. Brent Burns and Dmitry Orlov had first-period goals for Carolina, and Sebastian Aho scored at 7:14 of the second period, leading to Isles goaltender Ilya Sorokin being replaced by Semyon Varlamov. Sorokin stopped 11 of 14 shots, while Varlamov made eight saves in relief. Pierre Engvall and Brock Nelson had the goals for the Islanders, who will try to stave elimination on Saturday afternoon. Andrei Svechnikov had two assists and Frederik Andersen stopped 29 of 31 shots in the win for the Hurricanes.
KEY MOMENT(s):
🔷 After Pierre Engvall scored, Sebastian Aho restored the two-goal lead at 7:14 as he got a pass from Andrei Svechnikov and fired a shot from the high slot past Sorokin for his second goal of the series. That ended Sorokin's night.
🔶 Brock Nelson brought the Islanders back within one late in the middle period. Ryan Pulock's shot was deflected off Kyle Palmieri in front, and Nelson came in and quickly put it past Andersen on the right side with 2:21 to go.
🔻 With under six minutes to play in the third, Andersen made a stellar save while sitting on the ice, reaching up to grab a shot by Romanov with 5:48 left. The replay showed that Lee clipped Andersen, so the goal may have been overturned.
3 REACTIONS
❶ HAD OUR CHANCES: “It was a hard-fought game," Patrick Roy said. "There weren't many chances on both sides; it was a playoff game. We had a good push and in the third we had our chances, but the puck wasn't bouncing our way.”
❷ AGAINST THE WALL: "Our backs are against the wall," Kyle Palmieri said. "It's do or die for us. Physically and mentally, we have to find a way to regroup and play our best game this series on Saturday."
❸ EVERYTHING THEY HAD: “We knew it was coming, they were going to give it everything they had,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour said. 'That’s exactly what happened but obviously Freddy came up with a couple of huge saves and that’s the difference in the game."
GAME IMPACT SCORE
⏭ NEXT UP: The Islanders will try to stave off elimination and avoid a sweep when they host the Carolina Hurricanes at UBS Arena on Saturday afternoon.
Face-off is set for 2:00 PM EDT.
🏆 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS:
📰 NEWS: Patrick Roy said Game 3 was the perfect scenario for Ilya Sorokin to get the start against the Carolina Hurricanes. It proved to be anything but as the 28-year-old was pulled after allowing his third goal of the game 7:14 into the second period. Seconds later, Roy signaled for Semyon Varlamov to go into the game. Rather than go to the end of the bench, Sorokin elected to go down the tunnel and leaned up against the wall with his helmet on, obviously extremely disappointed in his performance that left the team down 3-1.
“We win as a team and lose as a team,” Roy said when asked about Sorokin. “I’m not going to go there but what I’m going to say is we sometimes make changes as a coach because we feel that we just want to change the momentum of the game. I’ll leave it at that.”
Varlamov made all eight saves in relief and is now expected to take the net back for the start of Game 4. “You have a quick second to get ready and jump in the game and do your job,” Varlamov said. “It’s part of hockey. Things happen. What are you going to do? As a goalie, you have to be ready no matter what. Something could happen in the first minute and you have to go in. It could happen in the last minute and you have to go in.”
Freddie Sez Big Saves
For the second time in three games, Canes goaltender Frederik Andersen made a clutch save off Noah Dobson that could’ve swung momentum in the game.
In Game 1, with the game tied at 1-1, Andersen robbed Dobson after the defenseman followed up his initial shot that hit the post. Then, in Game 2, he stopped Mathew Barzal’s shot with his shoulder and then reached back with his glove to prevent Dobson’s backhand from tying the game.
Carolina Head Coach Rod Brind'Amour credited the goalie for always being even-keeled regardless of the situation. “He was very, very sharp,” he said. “Obviously, the difference in the game. That's kind of his demeanor. You can never really tell with him what kind of game it is.”
📚 SOUND SMART: Per Eric Hornick in The Skinny, Anders Lee is the only player on either team with points in all three games in the series; Andrei Svechnikov had a pair of assists to give him four in the series (only Connor McDavid has more assists). It was the first time Ilya Sorokin had ever been pulled in a playoff game. It was the first goaltender change for the Isles since June 21, 2021, in Tampa Bay (Varlamov allowed three, Sorokin allowed five in relief). Matt Martin and Cal Clutterbuck each had only one shift in the third period.
🎥 ISLES REWIND: On April 26, 1993, Al Iafrate scored three times, while Ray Ferraro had four goals in the Washington Capitals 6-4 win over the Islanders in Game 5 of the Patrick Division Semifinals.
This was just the second playoff game where each team had a hat trick. “This is Ray's season right now," said Derek King after the game. The Isles would close out the series in six games back at the Nassau Coliseum.
🔗 Islanders’ Ilya Sorokin pivot backfires — and brings about big questions by Ethan Sears, New York Post “ Ilya Sorokin was standing in the Islanders’ tunnel, leaning against the wall. He had just been pulled from Thursday’s 3-2 loss in Game 3 against the Hurricanes and, instead of going to the bench, opted to go someplace a little more alone, a little more quiet. He stood there and watched for a few minutes. Then, somebody brought him a chair.”
🔗 Patrick Roy’s decision to start Ilya Sorokin backfires in Game 3 loss to Hurricanes by Joe Pantorno, amNY “New York Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin’s 2024 playoff debut lasted a little over 27 minutes before getting an early hook. Sorokin made just 11 saves on 14 shots in Game 3 on Thursday night at UBS Arena, allowing the only three goals the Hurricanes scored in what finished as a 3-2 Carolina victory to put the Islanders in a 0-3 first-round series deficit.”
And we leave you with this …Mets OF Brandon Nimmo was at the game, it turns out he’s friends with Jon Ledecky after learning they both have lived in Wyoming while on a plane ride with the Wilpons that the Islanders co-owner was also on years ago.
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