In a predictably tight game, the Carolina Hurricanes pulled off a 2-1 victory over the New York Islanders in game one of the first round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs. 

The game was characterized by exceptional play in goal for both teams. Antti Raanta was the star of the night for the Canes (52-21-9), but Ilya Sorokin held his own for the Islanders (42-31-9) as well.

“[Raanta] played great,” said head coach Rod Brind’Amour. “So did [Sorokin] — it’s crazy. He made some saves there that could’ve put the game away for us, then Raanta had us in it too. … They had great saves, we had good saves, both teams were going pretty hard.”

Fans flocked to the parking lots before Monday evening’s game, taking advantage of the 70-degree weather. Inside PNC Arena, a white rally towel was draped over the back of every seat, with the slogan “Never Compromise” adorned on each one, perhaps a double entendre for the state the Hurricanes have called home for 25 years.

Following a refreshed pregame video complete with ice-wide projections of Carolina’s highlights, right wing Andrei Svechnikov got the crowd rocking and rolling as the first siren sounder of the evening. Svechnikov, who’s on long-term injury reserve following surgery to repair his torn ACL, grinned widely at the sound and sight of some 17,000 Caniacs.

“I’ve been feeling that love over the past four weeks,” Svechnikov said. “It’s been amazing. I’ve been laying down in my living room, and I see people coming to my house — the neighbors bringing me cookies, and that’s a special place, to be honest.”

Center Sebastian Aho’s power-play goal, scored five seconds into the man advantage, gave Carolina the all-important lead merely four minutes into the first frame. The setup from center Martin Necas and defenseman Brent Burns put Aho in perfect position to rip the go-ahead goal past Sorokin.

The Hurricanes continually outpaced the Islanders in shots on goal, but the Islanders picked up steam following a power play of their own five minutes after Aho’s goal. Raanta stepped up to the plate for the remainder of the first period, performing particularly well within the last minute after the officials sent defenseman Brady Skjei to the box for his first penalty of the night.

Following a successfully-killed power play, right wing Stefan Noesen confused a crowd of Caniacs after dipping the edge of his stick blade into the Islanders’ net — in fact, all the forward had done was draw a penalty for slashing.

The fans’ confusion was quickly forgotten thanks to Carolina’s second and final goal of the night, courtesy of Noesen’s tip-in off of Burns’ slapshot on the man advantage. Both Burns and Necas notched their second assists of the night, gaining two points apiece on top of their already-impressive stats from regular season play.

The Islanders answered extremely quickly to keep their deficit to one — less than 30 seconds after Noesen’s tip-in, defenseman Ryan Pulock sent what looked like a slow-motion puck past Raanta to prevent “Father Finn” from marking his fifth shutout of the season.

Two goals on the man advantage from a team ranked 20th in the NHL in power play percentage was nothing short of exceptional, but Carolina’s luck ran out eventually. The Hurricanes couldn’t come up with a point on New York’s second or third penalties in the second frame, but the damage was already done — the score would remain 2-1 until the final buzzer, despite some raucous play within the final 90 seconds or so.

NC State basketball star DJ Burns poured some extra juice into sounding the siren at the top of the third period — Svechnikov is a hard act to follow, but Burns did pretty well nonetheless.

Besides a little Sebastian Aho-on-Sebastian Aho crime, both teams failed to capitalize on a number of scoring opportunities in the third frame. Both Raanta and Sorokin did all they could to keep their teams in the game, and although the Islanders were unable to claw their way back into a tie, you can’t say it was for lack of trying.

New York’s best attempt at a comeback came while Brent Burns sat in the box for slashing with five minutes left in the third frame. Two minutes, several cleared pucks and a few close calls later, attendees’ rally towels were out in full force as Carolina looked poised to take the game one victory. Raucous cheers followed Burns out of the penalty box, and the Hurricanes held on tight throughout the last minute and a half after the Islanders pulled Sorokin.

“You always want to start with the win,” Raanta said. “We’re getting ready to play, and it’s gotta be like that — the whole series is [between] two hard-working teams. … Tomorrow’s a recovery day, and then we go again.”

The Hurricanes will return to PNC Arena on Wednesday, April 19 to face the Islanders in game two. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m.