3. McElhinney Stands Tall.
Although the scoring finally opened up this game, Curtis McElhinney didn’t give up much. McEhinney only gave up two goals this game with one being on the Islanders powerplay and the other, was just an amazing snipe from Josh Bailey.
McEhinney making his first start postseason start of his career at 36, despite appearing in playoff game for three different teams (CGY 2009, TOR 2018, CAR Game 2, 2019), looked like he was the guy all along, stopping 28 of the 30 shots on him, ending the game with a solid .933 sv pct and just 2 goals against.
Oldest goaltender to make his first #StanleyCup Playoffs start.
— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) May 2, 2019
And he got the win.
Have a night, @McElhinney_C30! 👏 pic.twitter.com/LAQvYRlyeu
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He really gave ‘Canes fans no reason to worry after the Mrazek injury and has been stellar ever since he took over for him in game 2.
McEhinney has been a story all season, collecting career highs in almost every big category as a goalie, and when the ‘Canes needed him most, he showed up in a big way. Although Mrazek is a possibility for Game 4, as he’s day to day, McEhinney has done his job as the Hurricanes have taken an absolutely demanding 3-0 series lead, and have the chance to close it out at home on Friday.
Jaccob Slavin left his mark on this game with two more assists giving him 12 in the team’s and his first 10 playoff games. Only three defenders in the history of the sport have more in that same time span: Larry Murphy, Larry Robinson, and Bobby Orr. Now that is a great list to be on.
Question for CC Readers: Do we sweep the series or will it take more than four games to punch our ticket to the Eastern Finals?