Sabres - The Buffalo News
National Hockey League
Carolina 5, NY Islanders 4
When: 7:00 PM ET, Saturday, February 4, 2017
Where: Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York
Referees: Brad Meier, Brad Watson
Linesmen: Derek Amell, Darren Gibbs
Attendance: 14153

NEW YORK -- Carolina Hurricanes coach Bill Peters had one question Saturday night after watching a game that included nine goals, seven penalties, four ties and three lead changes.

"So," Peters said with a grin. "What'd you think of that one?"

The Hurricanes certainly exited Barclays Center feeling entertained Saturday night after defenseman Ron Hainsey scored with 2:08 left in overtime to give Carolina a wild 5-4 victory over the New York Islanders.

"Lot going on in that one," Peters said. "Busy. I thought it was a busy game."

Peters might have undersold the chaos that occurred. Both the Hurricanes and Islanders were playing their second game in as many nights. Carolina beat the Edmonton Oilers 2-1 on Friday and New York fell to the Detroit Red Wings 5-4.

"Lot of penalties tonight, lot of bouncing pucks," said Hainsey, who scored two goals. "I think they got in after us. We didn't exactly get in early. So maybe not the sharpest defensively played game, (but) it turned into an entertaining one."

Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin and Islanders center Anders Lee scored within an 81-second span around the midway point of the first period. That was just a hint of things to come in the second period, when the teams combined for five goals scored in two frantic bursts.

Casey Cizikas lunged past Hurricanes defenseman Noah Hanifan in front of the net to poke the puck past Cam Ward at 2:36. The goal was being announced over the public address system when Hainsey's shot from between the faceoff circles slid under a screened Jean-Francois Berube just 21 seconds later.

Lee Stempniak gave the Hurricanes the lead a mere 1:20 later. Carolina maintained its one-goal advantage until the Islanders' Brock Nelson tied it with exactly a minute remaining in the period.

Even that lead was not safe. The Hurricanes went back ahead with two seconds remaining, when Berube failed to clear the puck in front of the Islanders net and Teuvo Teravainen swooped in, spun and shot in one motion.

"We had a couple breakdowns in our zone," interim Islanders coach Doug Weight said. "We had a few structural breakdowns and they took advantage of (them)."

The Islanders tied the score again 8:33 into the third period, when Josh Bailey scored three seconds into a power play.

New York could not produce the go-ahead goal, despite outshooting Carolina 11-2 in the third and going on the power play for a two-minute span that bridged regulation and overtime.

The Hurricanes controlled the overtime after they finished killing off Sebastian Aho's delay of game penalty and scored the winning goal after a sequence that began when Islanders center John Tavares broke his stick on a faceoff against Jordan Staal deep in the New York zone.

Hurricanes defenseman Justin Faulk gathered the puck and, with Tavares skating without a stick, Carolina patiently played what amounted to a three-on-two game until Hainsey got open just in front of the blue line and fired a shot under Berube's glove.

"Caught a lucky break there, with 'JT' breaking his stick off that draw," Hainsey said. "We were able to set up."

Ward made 33 saves for the Hurricanes (24-20-7), who have won three straight after a five-game losing streak. Carolina moved one point ahead of the Islanders into 11th place in the Eastern Conference.

"We had an opportunity before the (All-Star) break, with five games, to really (put) ourselves into a good spot," Hainsey said. "We got zero points out of 10. So we needed to come out and get five or six (points) in these first three (games)."

Berube had 20 saves for the Islanders (22-18-10), who have lost two straight (0-1-1) for the first time since a three-game skid from Jan. 6 to Jan. 11. New York is 5-2-1 under Weight, who took over for Jack Capuano on Jan. 17.

"We bounced back and got a couple big goals," Weight said. "We fought. Just disappointing to come out of the two games with one point."

NOTES: The Islanders scratched RW Cal Clutterbuck (lower body) as well as RW Stephen Gionta and D Scott Mayfield. Clutterbuck was injured Friday, when he returned to the lineup after missing two games with a lower-body injury, but interim coach Doug Weight said the injury is different than the previous one. ... The Islanders held a ceremony before faceoff honoring LW Jason Chimera, who played in his 1,000th career game Friday. Chimera, the 309th player to play in 1,000 games, received several gifts, including a framed "1000" jersey. ... The Hurricanes scratched D Ryan Murphy, RW Ty Rattie and D Matt Tennyson. ... Hurricanes G Cam Ward drew the start despite also starting Friday against the Edmonton Oilers. It was the fifth straight start for Ward and his 10th start in the Hurricanes' last 11 games.
Top Game Performances
 
Carolina   NY Islanders
Ron Hainsey 2 Points Josh Bailey 2
Ron Hainsey 2 Goals Josh Bailey 1
Elias Lindholm 2 Assists Ryan Strome 2
N/A Power Play Goals Josh Bailey 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Cam Ward .892 Save Percentage J.F. Berube .800
Cam Ward 33 Saves J.F. Berube 20
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Carolina 25 5 0-3 3-4 8 37
NY Islanders 37 4 1-4 3-3 6 26
Upcoming Games
  • NY Islanders will play their next game at home against Toronto. The Islanders have a W/L % of .455 after a win and .429 after a loss.
  • Carolina will play their next game on the road against Washington. The Hurricanes have a W/L % of .435 after a win and .481 after a loss.