ELMONT, N.Y. - William Carrier's late strike was the difference on Thursday as the Carolina Hurricanes knocked off the New York Islanders 5-3 in a back-and-forth battle at UBS Arena.
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After not "playing our best game" two nights earlier, the Hurricanes needed just 3:20 to jump ahead by two on goals by Logan Stankoven and Jesperi Kotkaniemi, then relied on a handful of Grade-A denials from Brandon Bussi to carry that advantage into the intermission.
Just 5:44 into the second stanza, though, the gap on the scoreboard was eliminated as New York netted a pair to reset the contest. Andrei Svechnikov nudged the Canes ahead one minute after the Isles' tying tally, but another equalizer late in the period sent the teams to the final frame tied at three.
With the decision still up in the air as the clock ticked toward the final five minutes, Carrier was the first to react to a rebound in front of Semyon Varlamov, whacking home the loose puck and putting his team ahead for the third and final time. Jalen Chatfield's empty-netter in the final minute provided some insurance for the visitors.
Making his first start since Oct. 22, Bussi turned aside 24 of 27 shots to snag his third win of the year.
