|
|
 |
 |
|
| |
Sunday, Mar. 26 1:30pm ET
'Canes outshoot Isles 49-10 in 4-1 win | |||||
|
| ||||||
|
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- The Carolina Hurricanes know these are games you must win in a playoff race. They also know they can be some of the most difficult. Gary Roberts and Robert Kron scored 1:40 apart in the second period, and Sean Hill had a career-high three assists as Carolina rallied to beat the New York Islanders 4-1 Sunday. "They're over there trying to work hard and get their jobs for next year," Roberts said of the Islanders, who will miss the playoffs for a sixth straight year. "This was a tough game for us to play. "You look up and we're outshooting them 24-6 and 30-9 and you're saying to yourself, 'Well, it's one of those games that can come back to haunt you if you don't bury a few.' We were fortunate enough to bury a few." The Hurricanes trailed 1-0 despite dominating play. Carolina rallied late in the second with a power-play goal by Roberts and a short-handed score by Kron to beat the penalty-plagued Islanders for the eighth time in nine meetings. "Had we not (won) -- wow," said Carolina coach Paul Maurice, his team still in a close Eastern Conference sprint with Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Montreal and the New York Rangers for two postseason spots. "Hey, this was an important game by any standards. We're right back into it now." Ron Francis, who became the 13th player in NHL history to play in 1,400 games, iced it with a power-play goal with 13:40 left. Roberts added his 20th goal with 3:58 remaining, reaching the mark for the ninth time in his career. "I'm trying to just pay the price and get in front of the net," Roberts said of his two rebound goals. Carolina outshot the Islanders 49-10 to snap New York's modest two-game road winning streak. New York, which took 14 penalties, had a season-low for shots, while the Hurricanes matched their season-high. "We played almost a whole half of a hockey game short-handed," New York coach Butch Goring said. "That makes it difficult to compete at any level, especially at the National Hockey League level." Goring blamed his team, and not the referees for New York's penalty problems. "You can't high-stick people," he said. "Most of those calls were very warranted." A rebound shot by Roberts tied it with 5:42 left in the second. Carolina was 0-for-6 on the power play before Roberts scored. Kron and Rod Brind'Amour then broke in 2-on-1 against Kevin Weekes, seconds after Andrei Kovalenko was penalized for high-sticking. Kron kept the puck and fired it high over Weekes' glove for his 12th goal and Carolina's third short-handed tally of the season. Arturs Irbe preserved Carolina's 2-1 lead with 15:05 left when he stopped Mike Watt on a short-handed breakaway. Francis made it 3-1 less than two minutes later. Mariusz Czerkawski was credited with his team-leading 29th goal 6:18 into the second as Brind'Amour accidentally tried to clear Czerkawski's centering pass and shot it into his own net. "There was no panic even after we scored on our own net," Maurice said. Carolina outshot the Islanders 22-4 in the opening period, but couldn't get one by Weekes, who allowed eight goals in games against Pittsburgh and New Jersey last week. The 22 shots were the most in a first period this season for the Hurricanes. | ALSO SEE NHL Scoreboard NY Islanders Clubhouse Carolina Clubhouse RECAPS St. Louis 1 Chicago 1
Carolina 4
  | |||||