Recap: Hurricanes Edge Islanders

BROOKLYN - A resilient Carolina Hurricanes club fought through two lost leads to defeat the New York Islanders, 4-3.
Jaccob Slavin, Lee Stempniak and Victor Rask tallied for the Canes in the first two periods, while Trevor van Riemsdyk rifled home the game-winner in the third.
Here are five takeaways from tonight's game in Brooklyn.

One
The unfortunate storyline in the Hurricanes' last two games has been the team's inability to preserve a lead in the third period.
The same was true tonight, both in the second and third periods, but in both instances, the Canes were able to not let that mentally break them. And, unlike in the last two games, the Hurricanes came away with two points.
"It goes back to the last couple of games where we have let down. This locker room wants to play with a lot of pride out there and not let that happen again," Slavin said. "That's what it was for us tonight. We didn't want to let that happen again, and we wanted to get the two points at the end of the night."
"I think our group has mental toughness," head coach Bill Peters said. "We've had a few gut punches. You've got to pick yourself up off the canvas and keep going. That's what we did today."
Two
The Hurricanes brought a 3-2 lead into the third period, a one-goal advantage that was erased by Anders Lee's second power-play goal of the game.
Same old story, right?
Not so fast. Five minutes later, van Riemsdyk stepped up with the puck and rifled home a shot from the top of the faceoff circles to give the Hurricanes a 4-3 lead, and they clamped it down from there.

"We know what's happened. You don't run or hide from it. You just learn from it. It's been a tough learning experience the last couple of games," van Riemsdyk said. "You don't like giving those up. But I think this time we did a good job of not panicking and being like, 'Oh, crap.' It was more of just shaking it off. We came right back, pushed the pace and got the fourth."
Three
The Islanders erased the Hurricanes' 2-0 lead in the second period, with goals from Josh Bailey, on a redirect, and Lee, on the power play, scored 1:53 apart.
Especially after the events of the last two games, that could have crumbled the Hurricanes, but they pressed on. Not even two minutes after Lee's goal tied the game, Rask tapped home a rebound on the far side of the net, his 14th goal of the season, to put the Hurricanes back on top, 3-2.

"He was going to the net hard and very committed to doing it right," Peters said.
Four
If there was any indication of how the Hurricanes felt after Saturday night's 4-2 loss to Philadelphia, look no further than the first five minutes of tonight's contest. The Canes jumped on the Islanders, who were idle on Saturday night, early and built a two-goal advantage before the game was even five minutes old. Slavin scored his second goal in as many nights just 2:50 into the game, a point shot that bounced off the skate of Adam Pelech and in.

"Is to games considered a goal-scoring streak?" Slavin asked. "I'll take it."
Nearly two minutes later, Stempniak walked in with the puck, shot and scored, a noteworthy way to punctuate his 900th career NHL game.
"We were on our toes early. We were getting in their zone and sustaining pressure. I think we had a bitter taste in our mouth from last night, so we wanted to come out strong in the first period," Slavin said. "It was definitely a response for us. … We wanted to make sure we were playing our game and getting off to a good start so we could play a full 60."

Five
Especially on the second half of a back-to-back, grabbing a first-period lead helped the Canes build a game on the road early. And not having to chase the game was likely a mental benefit for a team that had suffered two straight heartbreaking losses.
"That's a key to come out on time and get those leads. We don't like giving them up, but I thought we did a good job of bouncing back each time," van Riemsdyk said. "When they tied it in the third, we didn't panic, found a way to get the fourth and held on."
"It allowed us to settle in. Everyone got a chance to play," Peters said. "It's huge. It allows you to get started, and you're not chasing the game."
Up Next
The Hurricanes will host a pair of Western Conference teams this week with the Edmonton Oilers in town on Tuesday followed by the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday.