Carolina on Tuesday closed out the New York Islanders, with Jack Drury scoring a go-ahead goal early in the third period and Stefan Noesen cleaning up a fluky puck bounce off the boards for another one eight seconds later as the Hurricanes won 6-3, clinching their first-round NHL playoff series in five games.
The Hurricanes missed a chance to sweep the Islanders in a double-overtime loss over the weekend, then twice blew two-goal leads and entered the final 20 minutes in a 3-3 tie.
“They just kept coming,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “We had to play really well to win this series.”
Photo: James Guillory-USA Today
The win earned the Hurricanes a date with the Presidents’ Trophy-winning New York Rangers in the second round.
Drury scored his first career post-season goal by controlling a dribbling puck that bounced by Jean-Gabriel Pageau, then zipping it past Semyon Varlamov to his blocker side.
After a faceoff win, the Hurricanes dumped the puck ahead toward the corner, but as Varlamov went behind the net to play the puck, it took an unexpected bounce and caromed straight into the left post, then popped forward into the crease.
Photo: Bob DeChiara-USA Today
Noesen charged in to bury it as Varlamov tried desperately to get back to the netfront, pushing Carolina to a 5-3 lead.
That was ultimately enough to help the Hurricanes finally push past the determined Islanders, becoming the first team to win at least one playoff series in six straight post-seasons since the Detroit Red Wings did it from 1995 to 2000.
Elsewhere, Matthew Knies scored 2 minutes, 26 seconds into overtime as the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs extended their Eastern Conference series against the Boston Bruins with a 2-1 win in Game 5.
The Bruins lead the series 3-2.
In Vancouver, the Nashville Predators won 2-1 against the Canucks to extend their Western Conference series. Vancouver lead the series 3-2.
In Winnipeg, Canada, the Colorado Avalanche eliminated the Jets with a 6-3 win, claiming the series 4-1.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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