The New York Islanders broke a 79-year-old Stanley Cup playoff record as they defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 5-1 in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference First Round playoff series at the UBS Arena.
Tied 1-1 headed into the final period, New York scored four times in a 2:18 span, breaking the previous mark for fastest four goals in playoff history which was held by the 1944 Montreal Canadiens in the Stanley Cup semifinals.
Kyle Palmieri, Matt Martin, Scott Mayfield and Anders Lee were the history-makers as the Islanders were victorious in their first-ever playoff game at their new arena.
"It was pretty awesome", Martin said of the atmosphere. "I didn't think that [it] would be what the (Nassau) Coliseum was, but it's darn close. Obviously, our fans bring so much energy for us and really help us tilt the ice, especially in the third period when we really need a push."
Jesper Fast, who won Game 2 in overtime, scored Carolina's only goal, and Antti Raanta made 32 saves.
"Did you think they were going to roll over and die?" said Hurricanes Jordan Martinook. "We know they're not going [to]. They're here for a reason. Obviously we want to try and win every game and we're trying to get the next one, so learn some things from tonight and come back for Sunday."
Ilya Sorokin made 15 of his 30 saves in the period, including on Martin Necas at point-blank range.
"We had a good first period", said Carolina head coach Rod Brind'Amour. "We really liked how we came out [and tried] to get something out of the first period."
Islanders third-period explosion keys Game 3 win
Casey Cizikas put the Islanders in front with 7:11 remaining in the second period as he took a backhand pass from Ryan Pulock and beat Raanta from the right faceoff circle.
"I can't really take too much credit", he said. "That pass from [Pulock] was unbelievable. I didn't even think he saw me, but he made a beautiful pass and I was able to just get it over his shoulder."
Hudson Fasching almost doubled New York's lead 59 seconds later from the top of the crease but Seth Jarvis dove to swipe away the puck from the goal line after it trickled by Raanta.
Fast tied the game with the Hurricanes shorthanded as he finished a 2-on-1 with Jordan Staal after Mathew Barzal turned the puck over in the offensive zone.
With a penalty to Brady Skjei set to end, Palmieri redirected Sebastian Aho's shot to make it 2-1.
"Big goal", Palmieri said. "It was a tight game, and it feels good to come out on top."
Just 44 seconds later, Martin made it a two-goal game and Mayfield scored into an empty net with 1:49 remaining before Lee capped the scoring 16 seconds later as Raanta was back in goal.
"I think we played good enough in the first period, [and the] second period we battled", Raanta said. "They were giving a lot of pressure and we played well. Third period, we just didn't have that extra push to get the win."
The Islanders outshot the Hurricanes 17-7 in the third period.
"We were able to put a couple in and get a lead tonight at the end there with that tip from [Palmieri] to really put ourselves in a great position", said Lee.