The Anatomy of a Moment: The Night Jaccob Slavin Couldn't Miss the Net
By Ben Huffman
The Aftermath
The Islanders would return the favor the following night in Raleigh, beating the Hurricanes 3-2 in overtime at PNC Arena. Joakim Nordstrom for the second straight night and Elias Lindholm added another, but the Islanders scored three unanswered goals, getting the winner in overtime from John Tavares. Jaccob Slavin, Jeff Skinner, and Justin Faulk would all be held scoreless in the loss.
The overtime loss extended the Canes' point streak to four games during what would become a then-franchise record 13-game point streak for the team. The Canes would go 9-0-4 during this stretch, outscoring their opponents 46-31. By the end of the streak, Carolina had climbed to within four points of the final playoff spot, but a 1-4-1 finish to the season prevented them from getting any closer. The Islanders would also fall short in their pursuit of the playoffs. Despite winning their last six games of the season, New York finished one point behind the Maple Leafs for the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference.
Skinner was incendiary down the stretch for the Canes. Beginning with their 8-4 win on Long Island, Skinner scored 16 goals and 20 points in the final 17 games of the season, including five multi-goal contests. His 37 goals were 13 more than the next closest teammate, who happened to be rookie Sebastian Aho. Skinner played one more season with the Hurricanes, scoring 24 goals and 49 points in 2017-18 before being dealt to the Buffalo Sabres.
Faulk would go on to score a career-high 17 goals during the 2016-17 season, tying him for second among all defensemen in the league. He would stick around for a few more seasons, helping the Hurricanes break their postseason drought in 2019 and scoring one of the most iconic postseason goals in franchise history during the team's second-round meeting with the Islanders. Faulk was traded to St. Louis after that postseason run. Faulk scored a hat trick the following season, doing so naturally in a 7-4 win over the Kings that also featured a goal from Slavin and two from Skinner. He is the last Hurricanes defenseman to score a hat trick.
Through the years, Slavin's reputation has continued to grow as one of the best defensive defensemen in the NHL. While he'll show flashes of offensive brilliance every once in a while, his defensive game is what helped earn his a long-term extension with the Hurricanes this offseason. While there are plenty of games ahead of him, Slavin has already asserted himself as one of the best defensemen in the franchise's history. The two-time and reigning Lady Byng winner has never scored more than eight goals in a season, but for one night in 2017, there wasn't a better shooter on the ice.