Rapid Recap: Hurricanes 5, Islanders 2

The New York Islanders dropped their last matinee game of the season in a 5-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday.
Ross Johnston and Ryan Pulock dug the Islanders out of a 2-0 hole, but Max Domi scored the go-ahead goal for the Hurricanes in the third period to make it 3-2. Derek Stepan and Seth Jarvis put up two goals in the first 8:09 of the game while Jesper Fast and Brendan Smith recorded empty netters in the Hurricanes' fourth straight win.

THE SCORING:

1st Period:
2:25 CAR 1, NYI 0 - Noah Dobson turned the puck over in front of the net to Derek Stepan, who slips it past Semyon Varlamov to open the scoring for Carolina early in the first period.
8:09 CAR 2, NYI 0 PPG - Seth Jarvis chips in a power-play goal to beat Varlamov glove-side, doubling the lead for Carolina. Andrei Svechnikov and Sebastian Aho pick up the assists.
18:25 - CAR 2, NYI 1- Casey Cizikas' initial chance was denied by Raanta, but Matt Martin collects the loose puck and finds Ross Johnston, who cuts the Carolina lead in half. With the secondary helper, Cizikas picks up his 200th career NHL point.
2nd Period:
15:27 - NYI 2, CAR 2 PPG - Ryan Pulock fires one through traffic on the power play to beat Pyotr Kochetkov, who came in for Raanta after his exit in the second period. Josh Bailey and Kieffer Bellows tally assists for the game-tying goal.
3rd Period:
5:40 - CAR 3, NYI 2 - Max Domi fires off a feed from Teuvo Teravainen to take the lead for the Hurricanes. Jordan Martinook records the secondary assist.
17:53 - CAR 4, NYI 2 EN - Jesper Fast scores his 14th goal of the season, with an empty netter to secure the win. Jordan Stall had the assist.
18:50 - CAR 5, NYI 2 EN - Brendan Smith seals the deal with an empty netter in the waning minutes of the third frame.

Video: CAR@NYI: Pulock scores great tying PPG

NOTEBOOK:

Casey Cizikas reaches his milestone 200th NHL point… Ross Johnston scored for the first time since Jan. 30… Josh Bailey now has three points in three games (1G, 2A) including Sunday's helper in the second period… The Islanders were without JG Pageau (COVID-19 protocol) and Anthony Beauvillier (upper body) for the third straight game… Semyon Varlamov lost his fourth straight start… Antti Raanta left the game in the second period with a lower-body injury… The Hurricanes extended their win streak to four straight games, and lead the Metropolitan Division with 112 points.

GOALTENDING MATCHUP:

Semyon Varlamov stopped 29-of-32 in the loss.
Antti Raanta faced 18 shots and made 17 saves before exiting in the second period. Pyotr Kochetkov stopped 7-of-8 in the win.

SPECIAL TEAMS:

The Islanders went 1-for-3 on the power play, while their penalty kill went 0-for-1.

IMAGE OF THE GAME:

Tweet from @NYIslanders: Congrats to #Isles Head Equipment Manager, Scott Boggs, on working his 2���,0���0���0��� NHL games behind the Islanders bench last week in Montr��al 👏 pic.twitter.com/21hiCj26Fp

HIGHLIGHT OF THE NIGHT:

Video: CAR@NYI: Johnston tips in Martin's pass for goal

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders travel to the nation's capital to face the Washington Capitals on Tuesday, in their final road game of the season. Puck drop is set for 7p.m.