The New York Islanders deferred elimination and sent their first round series back to Long Island with a gutsy 3-2 Game 5 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh.
The Islanders didn’t stay out of the box, but they didn’t shoot themselves in the foot, and they got the goaltending performance they’d — okay, we’d — been waiting for. They also received goals from some go-to guys as well as trade deadline acquisition, Handsome Pierre.
[NHL Gamecenter | Game Summary | Event Summary | Natural Stat Trick | HockeyViz]
Ilya Sorokin had a standout game, beginning at the very start when he stopped Jordan Staal’s backhand move on a clear breakaway, and continuing as the Hurricanes dominated possession the first 10 minutes.