Carolina Hurricanes: How they Managed to Sweep the Islanders

The Carolina Hurricanes brought out the brooms and swept the Islanders while moving on to the eastern conference finals for the first time since 2009.

At the beginning of the NHL season, I don’t think many had Carolina pegged as a team to make it to the playoffs, let alone the eastern conference finals. Yet here we are and the hurricanes look like  the hottest team in all of hockey. This series against the New York Islanders was the first time ever that the Carolina Hurricanes has swept a team in a playoff series.

The “Bunch of Jerks” looked unstoppable in the 4 game series. Lets take a look at each game and how the canes got here:

Game 1: 

In game 1, the canes had multiple players sit out with injuries. Andrei Svechnikov was still out with concussion like symptoms, Jordan Martinook was out with a “lower-body injury” and Michael Ferland remained out with an unknown injury. However, the canes were still able to get the win thanks to a great showing from Petr Mrazek and a clutch goal from Jordan Staal.

Petr Mrazek may have had the greatest game I have seen a goalie play in recent memory. In game 1, Petr had 32 saves on 32 shots on goal. Mrazek stopped everything that came near him and it was obvious he was not letting anything get past him. As you can see one of his tremendous saves below:

Petr’s amazing game made it possible for Jordan Staal to snipe home a goal in a low scoring game in overtime. Nino Niederreiter took an errant shot and Staal was able to capitalize and be there for the rebound and score. Jordan had a beautiful goal that flew just over the goalies skate to take game 1 in spectacular fashion.

This momentum from the team ultimately carried into game 2.

Game 2:

 With the canes winning at the Barclays center, it was obvious they had a little bit more swagger heading into game 2. The canes again headed into the game with 3 men down, yet never missed a beat. Although the Islanders were able to get on the board early with their first goal of the series, Warren Foegele retaliated and scored a team leading 5th goal of the playoffs.

The canes were down 1-0 going into the third period, but came out strong. After Foegele scored, Nino Niederreiter gave the canes the lead less than a minute later on a deflection. This ultimately allowed the canes to win game 3 as they never looked back.

Game 2 was a huge win for the canes but came with a few big injuries. Trevor Van Riemsdyk was injured in the first, off a hit from Islander forward Cal Clutterbuck. Trevor never returned to the game or the series and ultimately required season-ending surgery. Petr Mrazek also suffered and a lower body injury but paved the way for Curtis McElhinney to get his first playoff appearance for the canes.

Curtis was an amazing reliever for the canes as he stopped every shot he faced and helped the canes win game 2. Saku Maenalanen was also injured in the game and was not able to return to the game or the series. It was a couple of tough losses, but the team was able to prevail and win game 2 on a high note.

Game 3:

With the 2-0 lead and home ice advantage the canes had all the momentum. Andrei Svechnikov and Jordan Martinook were able to return to the ice for game 3, both playing for the first time in the series. Curtis McElhinney also was the oldest goalie to ever start his first Stanley Cup playoff game at the age of 35 years and 343 days.

In game 3, Teuvo Teravainen built off of PNC Arenas energy and scored early in the first. The Islanders were able to respond and made it a 1-1 game off a power play goal, headed into the second period.

Justin Faulk was then able to give the canes a 2-1 lead off of a timely pass, coming out of the penalty box.

However, the Islanders were not quitting and were able to make the game 2-2 headed into the second period. The canes came out into the third period with purpose. They were not going to lose at home. Justin Williams put the canes ahead, ultimately being the winning goal of the game. Teuvo Teravainen and Sebastian Aho sealed the deal with two empty net goals.

The canes were up 3-0 for the first time in franchise history.

Game 4: 

The canes entered game 4 with a killer instinct. They were ready to end the series and were not taking no for an answer. Mathew Barzal got the scoring started early for the Islanders 2:30 into the first. The canes retaliated by netting their first power play goal of the playoffs with Sebastian Aho’s goal.

Teuvo Teravainen gave the canes the lead early in the second and Greg McKegg scored his first NHL career playoff goal to extend the lead to 3-1. Building off the contagious energy, Justin Williams was able to score and earn himself his 100th career playoff point.

Andrei Svechnikov was also able to get on the board and scored his first goal of the series on a powerful snipe.

The canes looked like nobody could beat them in the series against New York. They were dominant all series long, with excellent goaltending and big scoring outbursts. The team finally was able to have their star forward Sebastian Aho get going and Jaccob Slavin has otherwise been the teams third goalie with a team leading 28 blocked shots in the playoffs.

The hurricanes were able to beat the Islanders 5-1 and take the series 4-0. As of right now, the canes look like the best team in hockey and it should be an exciting series for whoever their opponent is in the eastern conference finals.

CC Readers: What was your favorite moment from the series?