Chad Johnson made 36 saves on 38 shots. That helped his save percentage a bit, but it was immeasurable for his confidence. The game wasn’t the face paced goal fest the night before had been. Both teams had played the night before, so they were equally tired. The Isles didn’t even practice today since getting into Raleigh late last night. There was ice and snow and a contingent of faithful Islander fans in a mostly empty arena.
Jack’s line-up looked a bit different from the one that faced the Rangers as Cizikas was rested, Grabner was taken off IR and deHaan was in for Visnovsky.
It took 17:06 for the puck to find the back of the net and it was Anders Lee who made it happen. It was a power play goal with assists to JT and Nielsen. Brock Nelson scored in the second, snapping his drought and adding to the Isles lead. The Isles had a mini power play to begin the third period, but Anders Lee took a penalty right off the draw eight seconds in. Luckily the Hurricanes didn’t manage a goal while he sat in the box.
Michael Grabner made the most of his first game back and scored at the 7:09 mark of the third. Uh, oh. The dreaded three goal lead. Certainly it wasn’t long before the Canes would get one past Johnson. And… it wasn’t. Four minutes later, Jiri Tlusty put the Canes on the board, but that was the only one Johnson would let get passed him.
The Canes net was empty with almost five minutes left of the third and John Tavares somehow sailed the puck all the way down the ice and into the net. That’ll teach ya! 4-1 Islanders and that is where it would stay.
Capuano spoke at record speed with Shannon Hogan. “We were good tonight. We weren’t great. That big line (of the Canes) dominated. We found a way to win. Chad played exceptionally well. He’s been working extremely hard.… I’m sure Chad will appreciate that his work has paid off. Both teams played very hard. One of those games something had to give. We found a way.…
Brock Nelson has also had his nose to the grindstone. But even though Brock had been getting his chances, Jack said “You have to play well away from the puck. He’s playing well defensively and he was doing that tonight and was rewarded.… Michael Grabner, back in the line-up, made an immediate impact. It was one of his best games with several great opportunities and a few big smiles on the bench.
McDonald still making a case for himself to stick. He played hard, he hit, he skated and he had an assist on Brock Nelson’s goal in the second. With the schedule jam packed, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, McDonald probably won’t be on that Bridgeport shuttle too soon.
Tonight they rest. Tomorrow – it starts all over again.