Scoring three goals in the final eight minutes of the first period against a team that hadn’t given up a first-period goal in 10 games gave Carolina the edge in their 4-1 shellacking of the New York Islanders. Centers Seth Jarvis and Jake Guentzel combined for five points and scored three out of the four goals.
With a win and a New York Rangers loss, the Canes (43-20-6) are now just two points back of first place in the Metropolitan division. The Hurricanes have been steam-rolling teams, winning seven of their last eight games. The Islanders (29-24-15) on the other hand have lost five-straight games as they currently battle with other teams for the last wild card spot in a fight of who wants it the least.
For the first 10 minutes of the game, the Islanders were just as in it as the Hurricanes were. Both teams traded chances back and forth but each netminder was solid, not letting anything through. Canes goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov stood tall and kept Carolina from falling behind before it found its footing and smothered the Islanders.
Giving up just one goal on 31 shots against, Kochetkov had yet another unbelievable night in net. The rookie’s ability to track the puck through traffic made it hard for the Isles to get anything past him. His one goal allowed came off a two-on-one rebound chance that resulted from a lackadaisical backcheck.
Once Carolina got going, all the Islanders could do was watch, and just under 13 minutes into the game Jarvis opened the scoring. A shot from defenseman Brady Skjei hit a body in front of New York goaltender Ilya Sorokin, and Jarvis collected the rebound and fired a shot bouncing off the inside of Sorokin’s pad and in.
Two minutes later it was Jarvis on the scoresheet again, this time after a tic-tac-toe play with Guentzel. Carrying the puck into the zone, Guentzel took advantage of the odd-man rush with Jarvis, and after faking a shot, he found Jarvis in the slot who was more than happy to tuck in his second of the night.
It’s hard to find someone who has elevated their game as much as Jarvis has this year. The 22-year-old is setting career-highs in almost every statistical category and is on pace to more than double his last season’s goal total. Jarvis has earned the trust of head coach Rod Brind’Amour and whether he is on the power play or penalty kill, he excels.
The final goal of the period came on a dazzling play by center Martin Necas. As Necas was picking up speed, center Evgeny Kuznetsov dumped the puck off to him where he proceeded to stick-handle through every Islanders player on the ice and rip a shot top-left past Sorokin. With less than two seconds left on the clock, Necas single-handedly sucked all the life out of the UBS Arena.
With Necas’ seventh power-play goal of the season, the Islanders looked like they had lost all motivation to keep trying like they had in the first half of the first period. Although the two teams were equal in shot count in the second period, they were nowhere near the same quality. Between the end of the first and second period, Carolina had 14-straight scoring chances.
Although it was another disappointing loss for a fanbase that has had to watch their team lose 15 games in overtime — tied for league-high — center Kyle Palmieri gave them something to cheer about with their lone goal in the third. Palmieri collected a loose puck and out-waited Kochetkov with his backhand to prevent the shutout.
With Sorokin pulled, Guentzel iced the game on an empty net to earn his third point. The newly acquired forward has eight points in the past four games with the Canes, and his instant chemistry with the group has been impressive. Whether it be on the first line with center Sebastian Aho or the second line with Kuznetsov, he’s found ways to get points and make the Canes a real threat to win wherever they play.
The Canes return to action on Thursday, March 20, when they take on the Philadelphia Flyers at 7 p.m.
