Islanders rally, defeat Hurricanes in overtime

RALEIGH, N.C. -- John Tavares scored 34 seconds into overtime to help the New York Islanders rally for a 3-2 win against the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena on Tuesday.
Joshua Ho-Sang left a drop pass for Tavares, who scored on a wrist shot from the top of the slot.

Thomas Greiss made 30 saves for the Islanders (33-25-11), who moved one point ahead of the Toronto Maple Leafs for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference. New York and the Tampa Bay Lightning are tied with 77 points, but the Islanders have two more regulation/overtime wins.
WATCH: All Islanders vs. Hurricanes highlights
New York trailed 2-0 in the second period but came back to get a split of the home-and-home series after losing 8-4 to the Hurricanes at the Barclays Center on Monday.
"It was a big character win," said Tavares, who leads the Islanders with 26 goals. "Good job by everybody staying with it. It would have been easy to get discouraged and frustrated, but we just kept working hard. The game started to turn for us in the second half of that game. We started to generate more opportunities and limiting their time and space. Big win after a disappointing one [Monday] night."
Joakim Nordstrom and Elias Lindholm scored for Carolina (28-27-12).

Nordstrom gave the Hurricanes a 1-0 lead at 12:30 of the first period. Lee Stempniak won a battle along the boards and passed to Nordstrom for a goal from the top of the right circle.
Lindholm's breakaway goal gave Carolina a 2-0 lead 40 seconds into the second period. Lindholm poked the puck away from Nick Leddy at the point and skated in alone on Griess for a goal below the blocker.

New York tied the game late in the second period on goals 25 seconds apart. After Nikolay Kulemin's pass deflected off a Carolina defender, Ho-Sang gathered the rebound and quickly put a wrist shot past Cam Ward to make it 2-1 at 18:55.
"I was really happy to score that one," said Ho-Sang, who has three goals and three assists in his first eight NHL games. "I was upset I missed my first two chances in the first period. All the goalies are really good. That's definitely the hardest thing about playing in the NHL."
Jason Chimera tied the game at 19:20 after setting the puck inside the blue line and dumping the puck in deep. When the puck came off the glass, Chimera gathered it in the left circle and scored over the glove to make it 2-2.

One night after the Islanders and Hurricanes combined for 12 goals, Greiss and Ward (31 saves) were solid.
"I didn't think it was going to be 8-4 or 12 goals combined," Hurricanes coach Bill Peters said. "Tonight was a little more realistic. I thought both goaltenders played well."

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Goal of the game

Tavares's game-winner in overtime was a well-placed shot, low to the stick side.

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Save of the game

Greiss made three saves in succession, the last one coming with his outstretched glove along the goal line to deny Lucas Wallmark with 8:26 into the second period.

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Highlight of the game

Ho-Sang had a split-second to get off a shot before Justin Faulk and Ward got square to him, but the rookie was quick enough to deliver a shot under the crossbar.

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Unsung performance of the game

Calvin de Haan was a steady presence on the Islanders defense with four shots and four blocks, and he helped kill three penalties. He also had an assist and finished plus-2.

They said it

"[Greiss] was terrific tonight. You could see in his eyes tonight, preparing before the game that he really wanted to step up with a big effort tonight. He certainly gave us that, especially when it was 2-0, keeping us in the game. Heck of a job by him." -- Islanders captain John Tavares on goalie Thomas Greiss
"We didn't get the two points tonight, but we're playing good hockey. We're creating a lot and being hard to play against. It's something we want to continue to grow and build off." -- Hurricanes forward Jordan Staal
"We took a breath there at the end of the second and let them back in the game, and all of a sudden it's a tie game. Overall in the first two periods, we had good control." -- Hurricanes forward Elias Lindholm

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Need to know

Ho-Sang had a goal and an assist in each game of the home-and-home series. ... Brock Nelson participated in warm-ups but missed his first game of the season because of an upper-body injury. He is day-to-day. ... Jay McClement left the game after the first period because of a lower-body injury and did not return.

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What's next

Islanders: Host the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; TSN3, MSG+2, NHL.TV)
Hurricanes: Host the Minnesota Wild on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; FS-N, FS-WI, FS-CR, NHL.TV)