The Carolina Hurricanes couldn’t make it three straight wins Sunday evening in PNC Arena, as the Canes fell 2-1 to the New York Islanders in a tight game.
Poor special teams play did the Hurricanes (6-4-1) in, as Carolina continued to struggle when the game wasn’t five-on-five. The Islanders (5-4-1) picked up a first-period power-play goal from forward Anders Lee as well as a second-period tally from defenseman Ryan Pulock.
“Right from the start we were just a tad off,” head coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “When we were good we just couldn’t find the net. Frustrating is a good word for it.”
The Canes’ lone goal came from forward Teuvo Teravainen as Carolina left a number of good opportunities on the table throughout the game. The Hurricanes went 0 for 3 on the power play, making their season mark an abysmal 4 for 38, the third-worst power-play percentage in the NHL. Even worse, the Canes are just 1 for 19 with a man advantage in PNC Arena this year.
“Losing the special teams battle every night and trying to win games is tough,” Carolina captain Justin Williams said. “The power play has got to find a way to get one for us. It’s not structural. The players out there need to make plays and get shots through and make it happen for us to create momentum. There’s no secret formula for the power play.”
On the other end, Carolina allowed the Islanders to score on one of their four power plays. The Hurricanes have allowed 12 goals on 37 penalty kills this season, the worst mark in the entire NHL. The Canes have been winning games recently thanks to their prowess in five-on-five situations, but the special teams units haunted Carolina Sunday afternoon.
“The power play has got to get better. That’s still an issue for me more than the penalty kill,” Brind’Amour said. “We just had a mess up on the first [penalty kill]. That was really the only chance they had on the power play all night.”
The Hurricanes outshot the Islanders 39-20, as Thomas Greiss gave New York a 38-save performance in net for the win. Greiss has given the Canes fits this season. In two wins over Carolina already this campaign, Greiss has saved 83 of 85 shots faced.
“Greiss is a good goalie, but he’s not a world beater,” Williams said. “Every goalie in this league is good, and he’s one of them. For some reason, the last couple of games, we haven’t been able to get one past him and we have to.”
Petr Mrazek took the loss in net for the Hurricanes, stopping 18 of 20 shots faced.
One positive for Carolina came from forward Sebastian Aho, who entered the record books with an assist on Teravainen’s goal in the second period. Aho extended his season-opening point streak to 11 games, tying Ron Francis’ franchise record. Aho extended his assist streak to 11 games as well, tying Eric Staal’s team record.
With an assist in each of the Canes’ 11 games so far, Aho has also joined elite company in a broader scope. Aho became just the third player in NHL history to accomplish that feat, joining Wayne Gretzky and Ken Linseman.
“There’s probably lots of reasons,” Aho said. “It gets easier when you get some confidence there with your linemates. That’s it.”
New York opened the scoring on a power-play goal from Lee in the first five minutes of the game, who placed a crafty shot past Mrazek off a good feed from forward Josh Bailey.
The Canes had their fare share of opportunities to tie the game in the first period, but couldn’t find the scoreboard. In addition to two empty power plays, Carolina squandered a handful of chances in the crease in the opening 20 minutes.
The Hurricanes jumped right back into the game just over a minute into the second frame, as Teravainen fired a wrister past Greiss to tie things at 1-1. Aho made a great play, speeding into the attacking zone and throwing the puck on net. The rebound came cleanly out to Teravainen, who converted his second goal in as many games.
New York retook the lead late in the second period on a fantastic transition goal from Pulock. Pulock received the puck with his back to the goal, and smoothly spun and fired a slap shot past Mrazek to make it 2-1.
The Hurricanes fought to get back into the game in the third period, but couldn’t find a goal despite another power play opportunity and almost two minutes of a man advantage with Mrazek out of net.
“Hats off to them,” Williams said. “We needed just a little bit more. Especially in games like this.”
Carolina will now get one day off, before returning to PNC Arena Tuesday night to host the Boston Bruins.
Carolina Hurricanes forward Sebastian Aho skates down the ice during the game versus the New York Islanders on Sunday, Oct. 28 in PNC Arena. Aho had one assist against the Islanders and is currently on an 11 game point streak. The Hurricanes lost to the Islanders 2-1.
