GOAL!
That was the sound that Canes fans heard five times on Wednesday night inside PNC Arena.
Game 3 was probably the most important game of the series. Yes, the Canes had won the first two games of the series on the road, but Game 3 provided them with a chance to take a 3-0 series lead, which would put them one game away from the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2009. The Canes were back in front of the loudest fans in the NHL.
And take advantage of that chance it was.What a game it was. After trading goals early, the Canes were finally able to pull away with a tie-breaking, third period goal from captain Justin Williams, and a couple of empty-netters.
In the first period, the game was very back-and-forth. Teuvo Teravainen started the scoring off of an assist from Jaccob Slavin 6:41 into the game, pushing a puck just past the left pad of Robin Lehner. Less than two minutes later, Islanders defender Devon Toews got a power-play goal when he got a puck past Canes goalie Curtis McElhinney on a screen.
This was all she wrote for the first period, as the Canes and Islanders went into the break tied at one in a very even 20 minutes.
In the second period, the story was more of the same. After a huge pad save from McElhinney, the Canes went on the penalty kill. Just as the penalty kill ended, Warren Foegele found Justin Faulk fresh out of the box on a breakaway, and Faulk put the puck home on a beautiful backhand deke 11:58 into the period. 2-1 Canes.
Not for long. Less than three minutes later, after a defensive zone turnover for the Canes, Josh Bailey unloaded a shot from the top of the left circle that went past McElhinney to tie the game up at 2.
Once again, that would be all the scoring in the second period. After a couple of low-scoring games in Brooklyn, the first two periods of Game 3 matched the total amount of goals scored in Games 1 and 2 combined.
Here comes the Hurricanes. Williams. Turbo. Aho. The three goal-scorers for the Canes in the third period. Williams broke the tie by unleashing a puck from Aho past Lehner’s glove. 3-2 Canes.
Empty net. The Islanders, desperate for answers again, pulled Lehner. This proved to harm them, as Turbo put a puck home with 58 seconds left. The Islanders kept Lehner out of the game, and Aho scored on a breakaway with five seconds left.
Canes win. 5-2. One game (and win) away from the Eastern Conference Finals, where, in 2009, they got swept by the Pittsburgh Penguins.
This year, however, the Canes look to be in better position to reach (and win) the Conference finals. As opposed to going to a Game 7 with Boston, they are going into the fourth game with New York. The way the Canes are playing right now, they can beat anyone.
Game 4. Friday Night. 7 P.M. Raleigh. PNC Arena. NBCSN.
Take Warning.
