Stefan Noesen capitalized on a loose puck near the goal and scored early in the third period to assist the Carolina Hurricanes in their 3-1 victory over the New York Islanders in the NHL playoff series opener.
The second game of the best-of-seven first-round series is scheduled for Monday night.
Noesen’s goal, where he collected the puck and scored at 3:44 of the period, gave Carolina the lead, followed by Martin Necas sealing the game with an empty-net goal from beyond the blue line with 1:32 remaining. It was a hard-fought match for the Hurricanes, relying on several crucial saves from Frederik Andersen to secure the victory at home.
Andersen made 34 saves, facing consistent pressure as the Islanders held a nine-shot advantage. Among his impressive stops was a dramatic one in the third period, where he fell backward after the puck hit the post, then managed to bat down Noah Dobson’s close-range attempt while nearly seated in the crease.
Evgeny Kuznetsov made his postseason debut with the franchise memorable by scoring on a power play just 95 seconds into the game for Carolina.
Jeremy Swayman’s standout performance included 35 saves, aided by the post to deny a close-range shot from Auston Matthews, as Boston secured a victory over Toronto in Game 1 of their first-rround playoff series.
Jake DeBrusk contributed two power-play goals, while Bruins rookie Jonny Beecher made his mark by scoring on his first postseason shot on goal. Brandon Carlo also scored, answering Matthews’ attempt, who led the NHL in goals this season but hit the near goalpost after catching Swayman away from the crease.
Trent Frederic sealed the victory with an empty-net goal, extending Boston’s lead to 5-1 with just over two minutes remaining.
