Boychuk's go-ahead goal helps Islanders beat Hurricanes 6-4

NEW YORK -- The New York Islanders scored six goals again. They had a dominant third period to pull out another win and remained one of two NHL teams without a regulation loss at home.

Still, coach Doug Weight found plenty of things he didn't like.

Johnny Boychuk scored the tiebreaking goal on a slap shot with 4:25 remaining and the Islanders rallied to beat the Carolina Hurricanes 6-4 Thursday night.

New York took a 3-1 lead in the first period but gave up three goals in the second to fall behind before responding with three in the third.

"The second period you just get away from everything you did well," Weight said. "We just go into 1-on-1 mode, hold the puck, decisions at the blue line start going south and then we get back to it in the third and we play a way better game.

"(We) can be so much better," he added. "We're getting there. It's not a hopeless case."

Mathew Barzal had a goal and two assists, and Nick Leddy, Josh Bailey and Cal Clutterbuck each had a goal and an assist to help the Islanders improve to 6-0-2 at home. Jordan Eberle added an empty-netter and Thomas Greiss finished with 28 saves.

Sebastian Aho had a goal and an assist, and Elias Lindholm, Noah Hanafin and Derek Ryan also scored for Carolina, which was 3-0-2 in its previous five. Scott Darling stopped 30 shots.

The Islanders trailed 4-3 after two periods and tied it at 7:22 of the third. Barzal sent a pass in front to Anders Lee at the right side, and he backhanded it to Bailey, who put it in from the left side for his fourth.

On the winner, Boychuk got a pass from Casey Cizikas at the right point and fired the puck past Darling.

"It was a good play and a key goal, but we were doing the right things and we got the result we wanted," Boychuk said.

Eberle capped the scoring with 1:18 left for his seventh goal of the season, all in the last eight games.

"We did a great job getting back in the second and just got outworked in the third," Carolina's Jordan Staal said. "We have to find ways to stay stronger in the third and stick with it, keep the puck out of our net."

Trailing 3-1 after one period, the Hurricanes turned it around and took the lead with a three-goal second.

Staal's centering pass from the goal line on the right side deflected off Islanders defenseman Adam Pelech's skate to the left side. Hanafin skated from behind the net and quickly put it into the open side to pull the Hurricanes within one at 2:54.

Ryan tied it for Carolina as he backhanded the rebound of a shot by Brett Pesce for his fourth with 8:41 remaining in the second.

Aho then gave the Hurricanes their first lead with 52 seconds left, scoring from the right side for his second of the season.

"It was a good win for us, but the second period was really sloppy," Boychuk said. "We weren't careful with the puck and (made) bad decisions and we let them back in the game."

The Islanders outshot the Hurricanes 14-9 in the first period and led 3-1, with all the scoring coming in the final 3:39.

Barzal broke through first as he brought the puck up the left side on a 2-on-1 break with Eberle. Barzal thought about passing before firing the puck past Darling's glove side for his fourth with 3:39 to go.

"We need Barzy on a nightly basis to bring it and he's been pretty consistent to this point," Weight said. "It's been a good first 18 games for him. ... He's feeling out the NHL hockey game right now."

With Lee off for tripping, Clutterbuck doubled the lead 36 seconds later on a short-handed breakaway into the top right corner. It was the first short-handed goal given up by the Hurricanes this season.

Carolina was still on the power play when Lindholm deflected a shot by Aho from the left circle with 2:30 remaining.

Leddy made it 3-1 about two minutes later when his shot from the left circle beat Darling for his fourth.

Game notes
Teuvo Teravainen's assist on Lindholm's first-period goal was his 100th career point. ... Aho played in his 99th career game. ... The teams play three more times this season: on Sunday and Feb. 16 at Raleigh, North Carolina; and March 18 back in Brooklyn. ... Leddy has 13 points (four goals, nine assists) in his last 11 games. ... New York captain John Tavares played in his 605th game, one behind former teammate Frans Nielsen for 13th place on the franchise list. ... Jason Chimera played in his 206th consecutive game, including the last 100 with the Islanders.

UP NEXT

Hurricanes: At Buffalo on Saturday night to wrap up a two-game trip.

Islanders: At Tampa Bay on Saturday night to open a back-to-back on the road.

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