ELMONT, NY — The New York Islanders broke a 79-year-old Stanley Cup playoffs record for the fastest four goals by one team in their 5-1 Game 3 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday night.
The win cut New York’s first-round Eastern Conference series deficit to 2-1, with Game 4 scheduled for Sunday afternoon at UBS Arena.
Forward Kyle Palmieri‘s power-play goal with 3 minutes and 51 seconds left in regulation broke a 1-1 tie. The Islanders then received goals from forward Matt Martin, defenseman Scott Mayfield and forward Anders Lee in quick succession.
Those four goals in a span of 2:18 were the fastest four goals by one team in Stanley Cup playoffs history, breaking the record of 2:35 set by the Montreal Canadiens in an 11-0 semifinal-round win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on March 30, 1944.
Palmieri said he couldn’t remember seeing so many goals scored that quickly by one team — especially after such a defensive stalemate between the Islanders and Hurricanes leading up to the offensive explosion.
“It was special,” said Palmieri. “It was an emotional night. I think we played the right way. We stuck with it and our fans stuck with it. It was a nice way to finish off Game 3.”
The Islanders’ Casey Cizikas and the Hurricanes’ Jesper Fast scored the game’s only goals before the record-setting sequence late in the third period. Palmieri gave the Islanders the 2-1 advantage by tipping home a shot from teammate Sebastian Aho. Palmieri then hit Martin with a pass as he cut to the net, with Martin beating Hurricanes goalie Antti Raanta cleanly 44 seconds later.
Suddenly trailing by two goals, the Hurricanes pulled Raanta, but Mayfield scored a long-distance empty-net goal 1:18 after Martin’s tally. With Raanta back in the net, Lee set the new record on his first goal of the series with 1:33 left in the game, whipping the Islanders’ fans into a frenzy in the first NHL playoff game ever held at UBS Arena.
“It was pretty awesome. I didn’t think that anything would be like the (Nassau) Coliseum was, but it was damn close,” said Martin of UBS Arena, which opened last season. “Obviously our fans bring so much energy for us and really helped us tilt the ice, especially in the third period.”
For the Hurricanes, it’s been a different offensive story. It was the second game in the series in which Carolina failed to score an even-strength goal. But in Game 3, it was the Hurricanes’ power play that cost them, going 0-for-4 against the Islanders — the first game in the series in which the Carolina power play failed to score.
“The power play cost us the game. That was clear,” said coach Rod Brind’Amour.