Sebastian Aho and Stefan Noesen scored on power plays, and the Carolina Hurricanes held on to defeat the New York Islanders 2-1 in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference first-round series on Monday night in Raleigh, N.C.
Hurricanes goalie Antti Raanta made 25 saves. His rejection of Brock Nelson’s shot with 33 seconds to play and his denial of Bo Horvat in the waning moments helped seal the outcome.
Brent Burns and Martin Necas both had assists on each of Carolina’s power-play goals.
Ryan Pulock scored for the Islanders, who failed to produce on a power play that began with just under five minutes remaining in the third period. Goalie Ilya Sorokin stopped 35 shots.
Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is Wednesday night in Raleigh.
Aho, who was the team’s top goal scorer during the regular season, notched the first goal of Carolina’s postseason 3:47 into the game.
Noesen’s redirection gave Carolina a 2-0 lead just 2:27 into the second period.
It was a huge upgrade on special teams for the Hurricanes, who had miserable stretches on power plays late in the regular season.
Twenty-four seconds after the second goal, Pulock recorded an unassisted marker for the Islanders. He had been in the penalty box for Noesen’s goal.
Still, the Hurricanes produced a 15-7 advantage in shots on goal in the second period.
Raanta had a couple of top-notch saves early in the third to keep the Hurricanes in front.
The Islanders had center Mathew Barzal in the lineup for the first time in nearly two months after a lower-body injury kept him out of action. He had two shots on goal in 21:12 of ice time.
Carolina was 7-1 in postseason home games last spring, falling to the New York Rangers in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Carolina went 3-1-0 versus the Islanders during the regular season, including a 2-1 home victory on April 2.
–Field Level Media
