The Islanders and Lightning found themselves in the same situation last night.
They were trying to bounce back after losing their first two games away from home in their respective series… But it didn’t work out.
Let’s see how it went:
After meeting in the 2023 Eastern Conference Final that featured four one-goal games and the sixth-longest game in postseason history, the @FlaPanthers and @Canes each moved within one win of advancing to the Second Round. #NHLStats: https://t.co/Q3qtPhPB3f pic.twitter.com/asDnwBHmDo
– NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) April 26, 2024
Nothing goes right for the Islanders
The Islanders may have made a playoff push, which made for a great story…
But they’re simply no match for the Hurricanes’ firepower.
We saw it quickly last night, as the Hurricanes took a 2-0 lead after only 10 minutes of play:
Wild man Brent Burns gets the Canes on the board in Long Island
(: @BR_OpenIce)pic.twitter.com/lYC9g3Q5yW
– BarDown (@BarDown) April 25, 2024
Orlov doubles the #CauseChaos lead in the first period and it gets complicated for the #Isles… https://t. co/Hfp8gksOPK pic.twitter.com/zWZpPRE9MJ
– TVA Sports (@TVASports) April 26, 2024
The first period ended with the score 2-0 in favor of Carolina.
Patrick Roy had to motivate his team in the dressing room because, at the very start of the second period, Pierre Engvall scored an important goal to cut the lead to 2-1 :
Pierre Engvall gets one back pic.twitter.com/LzyG5WfyLy
– Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 26, 2024
But what really sank the Islanders was Ilya Sorokin’s performance in front of the net.
The Russian allowed no less than three goals on 13 shots…
And the third, scored by Sebastian Aho, put him out of the game:
Sebastian Aho restores a two-goal lead pic.twitter.com/twc2vR4cCQ
– Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 26, 2024
Brock Nelson, the club’s leading scorer in the regular season, found a way to break through before the end of the second twenty.
He scored a goal… And when both clubs went to the locker room for the third period, the score was 3-2 :
A VERY big goal from Brock Nelson late in the second period! #Isles pic.twitter.com/PJdEGo4VgC
– TVA Sports (@TVASports) April 26, 2024
The Hurricanes held on, however, and ran away with the win by a score of 3-2.
They therefore take a 3-0 lead in the series… And they’ll have the opportunity to send Patrick Roy and the Islanders on vacation tomorrow, when the game is presented in the afternoon.
The Panthers are on a mission
At the very start of the second period, the Panthers are ahead 1-0.
That’s when the Lightning woke up: the Tampa Bay outfit scored back-to-back goals early in the second frame to take the lead for the first time in the series.
Steven Stamkos and Tyler Motte scored back-to-back:
TAMPA TAKES THE LEAD! #StanleyCup
Two quick @TBLightning strikes and it’s 2-1.
: @NHL_On_TNT (TBS) & @SportsonMax https://t.co/W9mpYG1lMO
: @Sportsnet or stream on Sportsnet+ https://t.co/sEijvXhbA1 pic.twitter.com/bgM6txguRg
– NHL (@NHL) April 26, 2024
But if you think the Panthers have given up… You’re in the ballpark.
Sam Reinhart (him again) and Brandon Montour invited themselves to the party and scored to give the Panthers a 3-2 lead.
Samson. Reinhart. #StanleyCup
: @NHL_On_TNT (TBS) & @SportsonMax https://t.co/W9mpYG1lMO
: @Sportsnet or stream on Sportsnet+ https://t.co/sEijvXhbA1 pic.twitter.com/ULB8pWW6Vz
– NHL (@NHL) April 26, 2024
What an absolute clapper by Brandon Montour! pic.twitter.com/CHvCkWldN8
– Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 26, 2024
The third period began and the Panthers got to work quickly.
Steven Lorentz picked the right moment to score his first career playoff goal, which also turned out to be the game-winner:
4-2 FLORIDA OFF LORENTZ’S STICK pic.twitter.com/z21P8n8A4C
– B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) April 26, 2024
Nick Paul scored late in the game to make it 4-3, but Matthew Tkachuk took care of the rest with a goal when the Lightning were without their goaltender.
The Panthers thus win 5-3… And they too will have the chance to eliminate their opponents tomorrow.
It promises to be a great game!
Overtime
– Nice save.
FREDDIE! FREDDIE! FREDDIE! #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/WnmIrYCMMs
– NHL (@NHL) April 26, 2024
– He’s hot.
Sebastian Aho notched the winning goal in Game 3 and closed in on head coach Rod Brind’Amour on a @Canes / Whalers franchise list. #StanleyCup#NHLStats: https://t.co/Q3qtPhPB3f pic.twitter.com/KqWajIghzk
– NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) April 26, 2024
– Hard to ask for more.
Frederik Andersen backstopped Carolina to a third straight win, bringing the @Canes within one victory of reaching the Second Round for the fourth straight year. #StanleyCup#NHLStats: https://t.co/Q3qtPhPB3f pic.twitter.com/hN7HlkuvPh
– NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) April 26, 2024
– A playoff guy.
Matthew Tkachuk opened the scoring for the @FlaPanthers in Game 3 and joined a small list of U.S.-born players with 20 career #StanleyCup Playoffs goals in 50 contests or fewer.#NHLStats: https://t.co/yiJQZpZ6Mn pic.twitter.com/tnwdnNACJL
– NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) April 26, 2024
– Top scorers of the night :
– Four games tonight :