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The New York Islanders grinded out a 3-2 OT win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday in comeback fashion. In the process, they picked up their season-long, fourth-straight win at UBS Arena.

Brock Nelson scored at the 2:03 mark of overtime to cap off the Islanders’ comeback after Alexander Romanov (1G, 1A) and Anders Lee scored in regulation to overcome an early 2-0 deficit. Jack Roslovic and Sebastian Aho scored first period goals for Carolina while Pyotr Kochetkov made turned aside 23 of 26 shots in the overtime loss.

Ilya Sorokin earned the win in a rare, one-save effort, making an overtime relief appearance after Marcus Hogberg’s (24 saves) night ended due to injury after he played the first three periods. The win lifted the Isles above NHL-.500 for the first time since Nov. 14.

“I’m very proud of the way we were resilient,” Head Coach Patrick Roy said. “But more than that, we showed character when we were down 2-0 and we stopped the bleeding. I was very proud of the way the guys played and stuck with it.

Not only did the Islanders pull off the win, but they did so skating with five defensemen after Ryan Pulock went down early in the contest with an upper-body injury. In addition to the in-game adversity the Isles improved to 3-3-0 on the season in the second game of back-to-back sets. Romanov was quick to point out that an intense training camp was meant to help their stamina in these situations.

“When we did whammies in the summer,” Romanov said. “As Patty said, we did it for back to backs games, right?”

CAR at NYI | Recap

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Hurricanes jumped out to a 2-0 lead by the 6:30 mark, as Roslovic sniped stick side on Hogberg to break open the scoring at 5:18, which marked the 31st time the Isles allowed opening goal, most in the NHL. In a tough break for the Islanders, Aho's intended pass from behind the goal line deflected off the left skate of Isaiah George and into the net, giving the Hurricanes a 2-0 lead.

The Islanders hustled and found a way to get one back before the end of the period, as Casey Cizikas broke into the Canes zone with speed and found Romanov, whose shot from the top of the left circle went through Kochetkov at 17:53.

After a scoreless middle frame, the Islanders found a way to tie it up in the third. Romanov had an important keep-in at the blueline for Bo Horvat to whizz around and snap a shot on goal and Lee was in front of the net for the rebound at 6:26 of the third.

Hogberg’s night ended after 60 minutes with an apparent upper-body injury, for Sorokin to step in for an overtime relief appearance, making him the goalie of record.

In the extra frame, Sorokin had to only make one save – on Seth Jarvis - to pick up the win. Nelson fired a wrist shot from the circle to beat Kochetkov and take the extra point for the Isles.

CAR@NYI: Nelson scores goal

ISLES DOWN TO FIVE D-MEN EARLY

Ryan Pulock was injured 15 seconds into his first shift of the game and did not return, which gave the Islanders a tall test early into the contest.

“It’s a great challenge, because you know we have nothing to lose,” Romanov said.

The Islanders blueline banded together and showed resilience in shouldering the extra workload in the comeback win. Romanov led the charge with 26:41 TOI, while Tony DeAngelo recorded 25:07, Adam Pelech logged 24:12, Mayfield had 24:10 and Isaiah George recorded 16:38.

Roy said Pulock had an upper-body injury, but there was no update on a timetable postgame.

NYI 3 vs CAR 2 (OT): DeAngelo

DEANGELO MAKES DEBUT

Tony DeAngelo made his Islanders debut – and season debut - on Saturday, logging 25:07 TOI, six shots (two on goal, four attempts blocked) and two blocked shots.

The 29-year-old defenseman faced his former team, as he played 105 games with the Hurricanes in the 2021-22 season and 2023-24 combined. DeAngelo played 34 games with SKA St. Petersburgh in the KHL before he signed a one-year contract with the Isles after clearing waivers earlier in the afternoon.

The Isles signed the right-handed, puck-moving defenseman in light of a lower-body injury to Noah Dobson, who is considered week-to-week and was placed on IR on Friday.

“Injuries happen across the league, and you never want to see anyone go down, but a void opened up and I just got back [from Russia] and the timing worked out,” DeAngelo said. “It’s great to be back and it’s a great opportunity for me, I’m grateful for it.”

DeAngelo quarterbacked the power play and logged 5:15 TOI on the man advantage.

“I was very happy to have him tonight,” Roy said. “He moves the puck well and skates well, he’s a good fit for us. He’s capable of jumping in the rush and jumping in on the power play.”

DeAngelo started the game on a pair with Romanov, but the d-pairs were mixed after Pulock went down.

LINEUP NOTES

Dennis Cholowski came out of the lineup to allow DeAngelo to play.

Max Tsyplakov, who was eligible to return after his three-game suspension, was a healthy scratch along with Matt Martin.

ODDS AND ENDS

  • Per Islanders statistician Eric Hornick, Sorokin's 2:03 TOI was the least ice time for a winning goalie in Islanders history. Per Islanders color commentator Greg Picker, Sorokin became the eighth goalie in NHL history to win a game making one save.
  • Romanov netted his first goal of the season.
  • With a secondary assist on Romanov’s goal, Adam Pelech extended his assist streak to a career-long four games (4A).
  • Horvat extended his point streak to five games with seven points (4G, 3A) over that span. Horvat is the second Islander this season to record a five-game streak after Barzal had six points (1G, 5A) in a five-game span from Dec. 31 – Jan. 11.

NOTABLE QUOTE

Anders Lee on a complete team effort”

“We’re resilient right now and we need to be. Hogberg was phenomenal, he was great all night. The d-core, we were down a man early and they played the whole night and gutted it out. Everyone grinded this one out and we battled for it.”

NEXT GAME

The Islanders play the final game of their season-long, seven-game homestand on Tuesday when they welcome in the Colorado Avalanche. Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m.

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