Islanders Fall As Andersen Steals Game 1 For Hurricanes

The New York Islanders threw the sink, the fridge and all other household appliances toward the net but couldn’t find a way to put a second puck past Fredrik Andersen as they fell 3-1 to the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday at PNC Arena to begin their first-round playoff series.

Andersen stood in the way of 34 shots from the Islanders, stealing a series-opening victory for the Hurricanes.

It took Carolina just 12 seconds into an early first-period power play to take a 1-0 advantage, as Evgeni Kuznetsov took advantage of a questionable holding call against Islanders captain Anders Lee.

A deserved penalty or not, Lee more than made up his infraction when he helped the Islanders even the score at 8:20 of the first period. Connecting with Alexander Romanov, the two set up rookie center Kyle MacLean for his first career playoff goal as he jammed a loose puck past into the back of the net.

As the game wore on, it began to resemble many from the Islanders’ recent playoff past as a duel between the two netminders held the score at 1-1 through the end of the second period.

Eventually, it was Semyon Varlamov who blinked first, surrendering a goal to Stefan Noesen that made it 2-1 Carolina at 3:44 of the third period. Martin Necas hit an empty net at 18:28 of the frame to lock in the final score.

Varlamov was strong in goal but was rarely challenged, making 24 saves on 26 shots while the Islanders blocked 22 shots in front of him. Meanwhile, Andersen had to do it all on his own for Carolina and only seemed to get stronger the later the game went.

In the second period alone, the Islanders fired 13 shots in the goalie’s direction but were left shaking their heads each time.

With the Islanders bearing down with a two-on-one chance, Andersen robbed Kyle Palmieri’s shot with a quick glove save. He then later stoned Mathew Barzal, smothering his shot from in tight by dropping into the butterfly following a defensive zone turnover by Sebastian Aho.

It was early in the third period that Andersen made his best and most logic-defying save.

After falling over in his crease, Andersen had little chance of seeing Noah Dobson’s point shot. But after the shot clanged off the sidepost, Andersen still had the wherewithal from his back to throw himself in front of the defenseman’s second effort for a save that kept the score tied.

The Islanders’ best opportunity to beat Andersen came on a late power play with a chance to tie the score. But even with chaos around the crease, Palmieri’s attempt slid just wide of the open goal.

Following the loss on Saturday, the Islanders trail 1-0 in the best-of-seven series.

Game 2 will be Monday night at 7:30 p.m. EST in Carolina.

This story will be updated