Islanders most to blame for brutal Game 2 collapse vs. Hurricanes

If you believe Monday night’s stunning collapse can be pinned solely on one player or group, think again. New York’s loss was primarily due to the entire team being outplayed by the Hurricanes. The statistics tell the story: the Hurricanes dominated with a staggering 110-to-28 advantage in shot attempts, outshooting the Islanders by a 17-1 margin in the third period alone.

Goaltender Semyon Varlamov, selected as the starter by Patrick Roy over the dependable Ilya Sorokin, faced an onslaught in the final frame and fought valiantly to keep his team afloat. He was bested by Carolina’s Seth Jarvis with just under 1o minutes remaining in regulation, bringing the Hurricanes back to within a goal after his teammates had failed the clear the puck out of their own zone yet again.

Unfortunately, he stood little chance against Sebastian Aho’s deflection at the side of the net with 2:15 remaining in regulation, knotting the score at 3-3. Moments later, defenseman Noah Dobson’s mishandling of the puck behind the net allowed Jordan Martinook to seize possession and promptly score the go-ahead goal, catching Varlamov off guard.

This sequence not only turned the tide late in regulation, but also etched a new NHL Stanley Cup Playoff record for the fastest game-tying and game-winning goals.

Adding cruelly ironic insult to injury, last night marked the second occasion this season where the Islanders squandered a three-goal lead against the Hurricanes, echoing a similar event in November. Undoubtedly, the ramifications of last night’s collapse are far more significant.

Patrick Roy lays the blame on losing individual battles

In his postgame remarks, a clearly frustrated Roy was tasked with explaining what had just happened, and he chalked it up to the fact that his team stopped winning individual puck battles after they had built up a comfortable 3-0 lead, via Greg Wyshynski of ESPN.

“We had a good start. We took a 3-0 lead,” Roy said. “For some reason, we started losing those 1-on-1 battles, and their D pinched down and we did not do a very good job along the wall to get those pucks out.”. That was the biggest difference from the first half of the game to the second half.”

“It’s a tough loss, no doubt about it. We had a chance to win that game,” Roy continued. “But we’ve got to regroup, play well in our building and win game number three.”

The frustration of the Islanders was clearly evident when they went after forward Jake Guentzel for his emphatic wrist shot into the open net, giving the Hurricanes a 5-3 lead and resulting in several players being sent to the dressing room before the final horn. But that passion would have been better served if it were properly channeled into protecting the lead they enjoyed entering the 3rd period.

Instead, the Islanders resorted to retreating into a defensive shell, relying on the hope that the clock would expire before the Hurricanes could mount a comeback. Unfortunately, they learned the hard way that this passive strategy was not a winning one.

Islanders have no choice but to win Game 3

Now, the Islanders are confronted with the daunting task of heading home trailing by two games against a formidable Carolina team, whose aspirations extend to claiming the Stanley Cup for the first time since 2006.

Whether Roy opts to change goaltenders and grant Sorokin his inaugural playoff appearance this year remains uncertain. However, one fact is undeniable: the Islanders must shore up defensively and exhaust all efforts to prevent falling behind by three games in the series. They’ll have some time to think it over and reorganize before the puck drops at UBS Arena for Game 3 on Thursday night.