The Carolina Hurricanes’ 2023 playoff meeting with the New York Islanders had a little bit of everything: special teams, overtime drama, a road loss that snapped a streak, and Sebastian Aho making team history along the way.
And yet, even with all that, it never felt clean for Carolina. The Hurricanes won the series in six games, but the Islanders kept making it uncomfortable.
That fit the matchup. New York had finished one point ahead of Florida for the better of the two Wild Card spots, and while offense wasn’t really their calling card, they brought a defense-first group backed by Vezina runner-up Ilya Sorokin.
Carolina, meanwhile, had settled into the No. 2 spot in the East after winning the division, miles behind the Bruins’ 135 points. That set up a first-round date with the Islanders, and the Canes immediately leaned on the power play in Game 1.
Aho opened the series by blasting a one-timer past Sorokin just five seconds into Carolina’s first man advantage. Early in the second period, Stefan Noesen redirected Brent Burns’ point shot to make it 2-0.
New York answered 24 seconds later through Ryan Pulock, with Antti Raanta starting in net for Carolina, but that was the extent of the comeback. The Hurricanes killed off all four Islanders power plays and held on for a 2-1 win behind Raanta’s 25 saves.
Burns and Martin Necas each had two assists.
Game 2 brought more back-and-forth. Paul Stastny scored early, and Noesen added another power-play goal in the second, this time with help from the Islanders’ Sebastian Aho.
But New York fought back with two goals in the second and another in the third to go up 3-2 midway through the final period. Then Jaccob Slavin did one of those postseason things Jaccob Slavin seems to do once a year, banking a shot off Sorokin’s mask from an impossible angle to force overtime.
In the fourth period, Carolina finished it off when Jordan Staal found Jesper Fast, who beat Sorokin against the grain for the winner.
Up 2-0, the Hurricanes headed to Long Island knowing Game 3 would be a grind. It was scoreless through one period before Casey Cizikas broke through with 7:11 left in the second.
Seth Jarvis kept it from getting worse by saving a goal soon after, and Fast later tied it with a short-handed goal. The game looked headed for overtime until everything fell apart in the final four minutes.
Kyle Palmieri scored on the power play with 3:51 left, Matt Martin followed 44 seconds later, Scott Mayfield added an empty-net goal, and Anders Lee tacked on another 16 seconds after that. Four goals in 2:18 turned a tight game into a 5-1 Islanders win.
That loss extended Carolina’s road losing streak in the postseason to eight games, dating back to Game 3 against Tampa Bay in 2021. Game 4 was the answer.
Jarvis struck first on a 5-on-3, Necas added another power-play goal early in the second, and MacKenzie MacEachern made his team debut after stepping in for Derek Stepan. He didn’t waste time making an imprint, setting up Aho for a goal in the second period.
Jarvis scored again in the third, and MacEachern later delivered the dagger in a 5-2 win that finally ended the streak.
The Hurricanes still had work to do back home, though, and the Islanders weren’t done. Game 5 went New York’s way from the start, with Pierre Engvall scoring midway through the first and then setting up Brock Nelson early in the second for a 2-0 lead.
Stastny got Carolina on the board with another redirected goal, but Mathew Barzal answered late in the period to restore the two-goal cushion. Aho tried to spark a rally in the third, but Sorokin stopped 34 shots and forced the series back to Long Island.
Game 6 brought a goalie change for Carolina, with Frederik Andersen getting the nod for the first time in the series. New York struck first again, this time on Cal Clutterbuck’s goal in the opening period, and that 1-0 lead held for most of the night.
Then Aho stepped in again. Around the midway point of the third, he knocked a puck down and batted it in to tie the game.
Overtime was needed, and Carolina ended it quickly. Stepan kept the puck in the zone, Stastny found a sharp angle, and his shot slipped under Sorokin’s right pad to send the Hurricanes into the second round.
By the end of the series, there wasn’t much doubt who had the bigger imprint in the “Battle of Sebastian Ahos.” Carolina’s star started quietly but took over when it mattered most.
His Game 4 goal stood as the game-winner and pushed him past Eric Staal for the most postseason goals in franchise history with 20. Aho finished with a series-high four goals and seven points.
The whole thing was a showcase for both teams’ depth. Of the 39 skaters who appeared in at least one game, only eight were held scoreless by both clubs.
The Islanders had 12 different players score, while the Hurricanes had eight. It was tight, it was competitive, and it was decided in the margins - especially in net.
It may not be the first Islanders series people remember from Carolina’s 2023 run, but it was the best of the three. And even then, it still sits behind a few more memorable ones.
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