Takeaways: Islanders Drop 6-4 Decision to Canes 

It was a hard-fought, back-and-forth contest, but ultimately a losing one, as the New York Islanders fell to the Carolina Hurricanes 6-4 on Sunday evening at Lenovo Center in the second half of a back-to-back set.

Pierre Engvall (2G), Kyle Palmieri and Anders Lee put up goals for the Islanders, while Mark Jankowski, Logan Stankoven, Sebastian Aho (PPG, 2A), Seth Jarvis (2G) and Dmitry Orlov led the way offensively for the Canes. Marcus Hogberg turned aside 24 of 30 shots in the loss, while Pyotr Kochetkov made 27 saves in the win for Carolina.

Although they battled back and made both games of the back-to-back set close, the Isles were outscored 11-7 over the weekend and saw their losing streak reach three games and their winless skid grow to five (0-3-2).

“We can’t allow three to four goals and expect to win games,” Head Coach Patrick Roy said. “It doesn’t work that way. We have to do a better job defending and execute at the right time.”

The Islanders are coming home from the road trip without any points and the second wild card spot became further out of reach. The Islanders (74 points) sit three points back of the Montreal Canadiens (77 points) for the second wild card spot, but the New York Rangers (77 points), Columbus Blue Jackets (75 points) and the Detroit Red Wings (74 points) all stand in the way.

“We need points and it’s going to come down to the last game so we can’t give up,” Engvall said. “We have to focus on the next game and go from there.”

HOW IT HAPPENED

The hectic, back-and-forth contest began with the Hurricanes jumping out to a 2-0 lead early in the first period, scoring twice in the span of 13 seconds.

Jankowski broke the ice at the 4:54 mark, burying Eric Robinson’s pass from the half wall down low to grab a 1-0 lead for Carolina. The Hurricanes doubled the lead quickly after when Stankoven snuck a shot from the left side of the crease from a Jordan Martinook feed to make it 2-0.

Instead of getting flustered after allowing two goals in a short span, the Islanders regrouped and found their legs. Engvall raced into the Hurricanes zone with speed and ripped a shot through Kochetkov five-hole to cut the deficit to 2-1 at the 6:10 mark of the first period. The Islanders’ power play then got its second goal in as many games when Palmieri used excellent hand-eye coordination to grab the puck that bounced off Kochetkov’s helmet and banked the bouncing puck into the net to tie the score at two apiece.

Engvall provided another goal, threading through the neutral zone and deking out a Hurricanes defender at the right dot before unleashing a snipe to take the first lead of the game for the Islanders, 3-2.

The Isles’ special teams faltered in two instances in the second period, as Aho’s power-play goal tied the game for Carolina, and Jarvis scored a shorthanded goal to take a 4-3 lead. Surrendering a shorthanded goal on a double minor was a blemish that followed two solid power plays that produced a goal earlier in the game.

“Obviously, the fact that they scored hurt us a bit,” Roy said. “We didn’t do as good as the first ones. But we have to give them credit for the way they defended the blue line and making it tough for us to enter.”

The Islanders found a way to tie the game in the third, as Lee scored his team-leading 27^th goal of the season when he jammed the puck in the net with a gritty goal at the 4:05 mark of the final frame to make it 4-4.

That was as close as the Isles came, as Orlov scored the game-winner at 9:19 of the third, as the defenseman’s hard shot from the point made its way through traffic and past Hogberg. Jarvis eventually iced it, as snapped a shot past Hogberg to cushion the Canes lead and make it 6-4.

“It was a good hockey game, back and forth, lots of plays on both sides,” Lee said. “We were pushing for one to tie it at the end, we just couldn’t give up that second one. But we battled back and were in it the whole way.”

HORVAT AND LEE REACH 50 POINTS ON THE SEASON

Bo Horvat and Anders Lee each crossed the 50-point mark on Sunday evening.

Horvat got his 50^th point with a secondary assist on Palmieri’s power-play goal. It marked the seventh career 50-point campaign for the center, and second with the Isles.

Lee collected his 50^th point of the season with a third period goal against the Hurricanes, marking his fifth 50-point campaign of his career. The goal – which built on his team lead of 27 goals - was also a notable one in the history books, as Lee’s 287^th career goal tied Brent Sutter and Pat LaFontaine for sixth all-time in franchise history.

“I’m sure he’d love to do it in a winning cause,” Roy said. “But he’s been playing some good hockey for us. To be in that position, you have to take care of yourself off the ice, he’s a great pro, I’m happy for him.”

LINEUP NOTES

Roy altered his forward lines going into Sunday’s contest, elevating Lee to a line with Horvat in Palmieri, while Simon Holmstrom was reunited with JG Pageau and Anthony Duclair.

Hogberg started for the first time since Mar. 22 and made his first appearance since he came into Wednesday’s game against Vancouver in relief of Sorokin.

ODDS AND ENDS

• Pierre Engvall scored his first career multi-goal game of his career. His prior 63 career goals were all scored in different games, which matches the third-highest total in NHL history before having a multi-goal game, per Islanders team statistician Eric Hornick.
• The Isles outhit the Canes 23-8. Marc Gatcomb led the charge with five.
• Lee led the team with 10 shots on goal,.

NOTABLE QUOTE

Roy on the grit and battle level of his team:

“We were down 2-0 early in the game, coming back 2-2, even taking a 3-2 lead. Down 4-3 and tying it at four… I love that we were resilient. It shows a lot from our group. It’s not easy to come back. I think the guys are giving me everything they have.”

NEXT GAME

The Islanders return home to open a three-game homestand against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday at UBS Arena. Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m.