The Hurricanes twice blew two-goal leads and entered the final 20 minutes in a 3-3 tie before Drury struck for his first career postseason goal, controlling a dribbling puck to zip it past Semyon Varlamov to his blocker side at 4:36 of the third.

Then, after a faceoff win, the Hurricanes dumped the puck into the Islanders end toward the corner. But as Varlamov went behind the net to play the puck, it took an unexpected bounce near the door and caromed right into the crease.

Noesen charged in to bury it as Varlamov tried desperately to get back to the netfront, pushing Carolina to a 5-3 lead at 4:44.

That was ultimately enough to help the Hurricanes finally push past the determined Islanders, earning at least one playoff series win for the sixth time in as many seasons. And that earned them a date with the Presidents’ Trophy-winning New York Rangers in the second round.

Carolina jumped to a 3-0 lead in this best-of-7 series before missing out on a chance to clinch in Saturday’s double-overtime road loss. That set up a familiar scenario from last year, when the Islanders won Game 5 here to extend that first-round series before falling in six games.

This time, Carolina closed it out even after a tense vibe in its typically rowdy home arena going into those final 20 minutes. By the end, though, Seth Jarvis had added an empty-net clincher at the 18:21 mark to let Hurricanes fans stay in a celebratory roar to close this one out.

Noesen’s bizarre goal captured some of the wild action, which included New York’s Casey Cizikas scoring in the final seconds of the second on an unguarded net — which emerged when Carolina goaltender Frederik Andersen simply stumbled as he scrambled to his right after a stop and fell untouched out of the crease.

Carolina scored twice and rang the post in the opening 3 1/2 minutes and twice led by two goals, only to see the Islanders climb all the way back and tie it at 3 on Cizikas’ score to enter the final period.

Teuvo Teravainen and Andrei Svechnikov scored in that opening blitz from Carolina, while Evgeny Kuznetsov added a slow-play score on a penalty shot to beat Varlamov before the end of the period for a 3-1 lead.

Mike Reilly and Brock Nelson also scored for the Islanders, who won eight of their last nine games to clinch a playoff bid in the waning days of the regular season. That came after a January coaching change with the firing of Lane Lambert to hire Patrick Roy.

Carolina entered the playoffs as the favorite to win the Stanley Cup according to Bet MGM Sportsbook, but the Islanders gave the Hurricanes fits the entire way. That included outplaying Carolina for much of the Game 1 loss, then blowing a 3-0 lead by giving up the tying and go-ahead goals 9 seconds apart in the final 3 minutes of Game 2.

Ultimately, another improbably quick burst helped finish off the Islanders.

Varlamov had 32 saves, while Andersen finished with 22.

RALEIGH — Stefan Noesen grabbed a loose puck atop the crease and pushed it past Semyon Varlamov early in the third period to help the Carolina Hurricanes beat the New York Islanders 3-1 on Saturday to open their NHL playoff series.

Game 2 of the best-of-7 first-round series is Monday night.

Noesen’s collect-and-finish score at 3:44 of the period finally pushed Carolina into the lead, then Martin Necas added an empty-net clincher from beyond the blue line with 1:32 to go. Those capped a grinding outing for the Hurricanes, who needed plenty of big stops from Frederik Andersen to hang on at home.

Andersen finished with 34 saves and was under a steady bit of pressure with the Islanders finishing with a nine-shot advantage. His stops included a wild one midway through the third when he fell backward after the puck pinged the post, then batted down Noah Dobson’s skating-in finishing attempt while essentially seated in the crease.

Evgeny Kuznetsov also scored for Carolina, converting a power play just 95 seconds into his postseason debut with the franchise.

Rookie Kyle MacLean scored in the first period for the Islanders, while Varlamov finished with 23 saves.

The Islanders are in the playoffs for the fifth time in six years, though it wasn’t an easy battle to get back. Their up-and-down season included a January coaching change (firing Lane Lambert and hiring Patrick Roy) and a six-game skid as recently as mid-March.

But New York won eight of its last nine to clinch a playoff spot Monday.

The Hurricanes are in the playoffs for the sixth straight year and entered as the favorite to win the Stanley Cup, according to Bet MGM Sportsbook, bolstered by a largely health roster compared to missing critical pieces in each of the last two seasons and trade-deadline acquisitions in Jake Guentzel and Kuznetsov.

The Islanders played without center Jean-Gabriel Pageau after he was knocked from Wednesday’s regular-season finale against Pittsburgh due to a lower-body injury, leading MacLean to elevate to the third line. The Hurricanes were missing forward Jesper Fast, who suffered a neck strain that knocked him out of Carolina’s finale against Columbus.

NEWARK, N.J. — Kyle Palmieri and Brock Nelson each had a goal and an assist and the Patrick Roy-led New York Islanders clinched one of the two remaining playoff berths in the Eastern Conference with a 4-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Monday night.

Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Kyle MacLean also scored as the Islanders secured third place in the Metropolitan Division and earned their fifth postseason berth in the six seasons. Semyon Varamov made 23 saves for his fifth straight win and helped New York extend its point streak to eight games (7-0-1).

The run also was evidence general manager Lou Lamoriello made the right move when he fired Lane Lambert on Jan. 20 with New York’s season slipping away after losing four straight and posting a 2-6-2 stretch during which they played poorly.

Roy came aboard and found ways to press the right buttons, leading the team to a 19-12-5 record, with their best hockey coming late with everything on the line. Lambert, who led the Islanders to the playoffs in his first season in 2022-23, was 19-15-11 when he was sacked.

Timo Meier scored for the Devils, who missed the playoffs a year after posting a franchise-record 112 points. Jake Allen had 14 saves in New Jersey’s final game of the season.

New Jersey also fired its head coach this season, letting veteran Lindy Ruff (30-27-4) go on March after a 1-2 West Coast trip. Associate head coach Travis Green was named the interim coach but the team didn’t respond and it went 8-12-1 the rest of the season.

The Islanders, who close the season Wednesday at home against the Penguins, never trailed as Pageau scored on a 2-on-1 with Pierre Engvall with 7:38 left in the first with their first shot of the game. Palmieri doubled the lead with 3:08 remaining with his 29th goal, a tip on a power play.

Meier cut the deficit to a goal early in the second period for his 29th. However, Nelson restored the two-goal lead with 8:12 remaining in the period with his 33rd and MacLean, put the game away, scoring in close in the third period.

With the Devils out of playoff contention heading into their final game, Islanders fans were able to scoop up tickets and they celebrated more as more as New York’s lead increased.

UP NEXT:

Islanders: Host Penguins on Tuesday night in regular-season finale for both teams.

Devils: season over.

Kyle Palmieri scored at 1:17 of overtime and the New York Islanders extended their winning streak to six games with a 3-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night.

Pierre Engvall and Casey Cizikas also scored, Semyon Varlamov made 13 saves and the Islanders inched closer to securing a playoff spot. Adam Pelech added two assists for New York, which is in third place in the Metropolitan Division with 89 points — three ahead of Pittsburgh with three games remaining.

Palmieri’s winner was his 28th goal of the season and extended his individual goal streak to four games.

Cole Caufield scored and had an assist and Sam Montembault made 30 saves, but the Canadiens lost for the fourth time in five games.

Islanders defenseman Noah Dobson left at 5:33 of the first period and didn’t return. Dobson is second on the team with 70 points (10 goals, 60 assists) and leads the Islanders by averaging just shy of 25 minutes of ice time.

Cizikas helped the Islanders erase a one-goal deficit for the second time when he beat the outstretched leg of Montembault to the far post and neatly tucked in a backhand at 6:30.

Caufield slid a puck between the legs of Varlamov and broke a 1-1 third-period tie at 3:42.

Harris opened the scoring late in the first with a knuckle-type slap shot that tricked Varlamov. Islanders defenseman Ryan Pulock blocked a shot earlier in the sequence without his stick but the Canadiens eventually prevailed on the extended possession.

Varlamov made a critical glove save in the final minute of the opening period, denying Joel Armia’s opportunity from the top of the crease and keeping the Islanders’ deficit at one after 20 minutes.

The Islanders answered at 5:07 of the middle frame when Engvall wired a wrist shot past the glove of Montembault and into the top corner.

UP NEXT

Canadiens: Visit the Ottawa Senators on Saturday.

Islanders: Visit the Rangers on Saturday.

Semyon Varlamov had a season-high 40 saves for his third shutout of the season, and the New York Islanders beat the Nashville Predators 2-0 Saturday night, getting a crucial win in their playoff push.

Noah Dobson and Kyle Palmieri scored as the Islanders won their fourth straight to take a two-point lead over both Philadelphia and Pittsburgh for third place in the Eastern Conference. The Penguins hold the second wild card while the Flyers are out of a playoff position. New York and Pittsburgh have five games remaining, one more than Philadelphia.

The 35-year-old Varlamov, who started four of the last six games, got his 41st career shutout and first since Nov. 2 against Washington.

The Islanders snapped a 10-game losing streak (0-8-2) against the Predators, dating back to Oct. 28, 2017.

Kevin Lankinen finished with 28 saves as the Predators lost for the fourth time in five games.

Dobson opened the scoring at 9:07 of the second period. Bo Horvat dug a puck out of the corner in the offensive zone as Casey Cizikas screened Lankinen, and Dobson fired a wrist shot past Lankinen’s glove for his 10th goal of the season and career-high 68th point. Mathew Barzal assisted on the play and extended his point streak to four games.

The Islanders’ penalty kill and Varlamov fought off back-to-back penalties midway through the third period to preserve the one-goal edge and shutout.

Palmieri added an empty-net goal with 1:19 to go.

The Islanders welcomed back former coach and current Predators general manager Barry Trotz for the first time since they parted ways after the 2021-22 season. Trotz joined the Isles after winning the Stanley Cup with the Washington Capitals in 2018. He coached the Islanders for four seasons which included two appearances in the Eastern Conference final.

UP NEXT

Predators: At New Jersey on Sunday.

Islanders: Host the New York Rangers on Tuesday night.

Bo Horvat and Simon Holmstrom scored in the third period to help the New York Islanders top the Chicago Blackhawks 2-1 on Tuesday night.

Ilya Sorokin made 18 saves for New York, which pulled within one point of Washington for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference.

“We played similar hockey throughout the whole game I thought, it was just a matter of it going in,” Horvat said. “We had our chances in all three periods. … Thankfully we got the job done.”

Jason Dickinson scored for last-place Chicago, which had won three of four. Connor Bedard had an assist, and Petr Mrazek made 27 stops.

The Blackhawks jumped in front when Bedard found Dickinson darting toward the back post 7:49 into the first period. Islanders defenseman Noah Dobson turned the puck over in the offensive zone and Casey Cizikas failed to stick with Dickinson, which created an odd-man rush opportunity.

It was Dickinson’s 21st goal, extending his career high. It was Bedard’s team-high 37th assist in his rookie season after Chicago selected the 18-year-old center with the No. 1 overall pick in the NHL draft.

“They outplayed us and they deserved to win,” Bedard said. “Overall, I didn’t think we were terrible. We had some chances but not really enough high-quality chances.”

Horvat tied it at 1 with his team-high 31st goal 1:33 into the third. He buried a feed from Mathew Barzal on the power play.

“I thought we had a lot of looks to score,” Islanders defenseman Ryan Pulock said. “You can’t get frustrated in those situations, you gotta keep going. We got the power play and power play came up huge, getting us that goal and we were able to build on it.”

Holmstrom put New York in front at 9:25. He got his 14th goal when he banged home a loose puck.

“[Anders] Lee threw the puck in from behind the net, I was just trying to find it,” Holmstrom said. “You want to get the shot off as quick as possible, that’s what I was trying to do.”

It was the Islanders’ first win in 10 attempts in the second half of a back-to-back situation. They beat Philadelphia 4-3 in overtime on Monday night.

Islanders forward Matt Martin dropped the gloves with Jarred Tinordi late in the first period after Tinordi delivered a big check on Jean-Gabriel Pageau.

UP NEXT

Blackhawks: Host the Dallas Stars on Saturday.

Islanders: Visit the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday.

TAMPA — Steven Stamkos reached the 30-goal mark for the ninth time in his career and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the New York Islanders 4-1 on Saturday night to extend their point streak to nine games.

Anthony Cirelli had two goals and an assist, and Darren Raddysh also scored as the Lightning improved to 8-0-1 since March 7 and beat the Islanders for the fifth straight time at Amalie Arena. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 28 saves to win his seventh straight start against the Islanders and improve to 13-4-0 against them in his career.

Kyle Palmieri scored and Semyon Varlamov had 38 saves for the Islanders, who are 2-7-1 in their last 10 games. They trail Washington by five points for third place in the Metropolitan Division and are also five behind Philadelphia for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference.

Stamkos deflected Emil Lilleberg’s shot past Varlamov 21 seconds into the third period, putting Tampa Bay ahead 3-1. The goal, which survived a video review for a possible high stick, was the 545th of his career, moving him past Hall of Famer Maurice Richard into sole possession of 32nd place on the NHL’s all-time list. Tampa Bay’s captain has scored at least 30 goals in each of the past three seasons.

The Islanders took a 1-0 lead 2:25 into the game, scoring on their first shot when Palmieri’s wrister from the right boards hit Lightning defenseman Matt Dumba in front and went past Vasilevskiy.

However, the Lightning scored twice in 35 seconds to take the lead. Raddysh’s power-play goal with 5:35 remaining in the period evened the score, and Cirelli was alone in the slot when he beat Varlamov to put the Lightning ahead for good.

Cirelli capped the scoring by hitting the empty net with 2:46 remaining.

UP NEXT

Islanders: Complete a three-game road trip at Philadelphia on Monday night.

Lightning: Finish a three-game homestand against Detroit on Monday night.

Semyon Varlamov made 27 saves and Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored the go-ahead goal midway through the second period to help lift the New York Islanders past the Florida Panthers 3-2 on Thursday night.

“He was stellar,” Islanders defenseman Ryan Pulock said of Varlamov. “He made huge saves in big moments, he played the puck well and he looked really solid back there and was a key part of that win.”

Pulock and Mathew Barzal also scored and Casey Cizikas had two assists for New York, which had lost six of its last seven and dropped in the Eastern Conference wild-card standings.

“The key was the start of the game,” Islanders coach Patrick Roy said. “We knew they were going to come out fast and I thought we played really well at the beginning of the game and (Varlamov) made some big saves for us, so it was a team performance.”

Despite the loss, the Panthers still clinched a playoff spot when Detroit lost to Carolina.

Aleksander Barkov became the first player in Panthers history to reach 700 points with the franchise with his second-period goal. Vladimir Tarasenko and Aleksander Barkov also scored and Anthony Stolarz made 21 saves for Florida, which has lost eight of nine.

The Panthers sit two points behind Boston with one game in hand for the top seed in the Atlantic Division.

“It’s always nice,” Barkov said. “Last year, it came right before the last game of the season, so now we have some more breathing room. But, of course, we have a lot of work to do and we need to be a little better than the last few games, for sure. So we’re going to learn and move on.”

New York is four points behind Washington for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.

Florida defenseman Aaron Ekblad returned to the lineup after missing seven games with a lower-body injury.

UP NEXT

Islanders: Visit Tampa Bay on Saturday night.

Panthers: Host Detroit on Saturday.

Cal Clutterbuck scored twice, Mathew Barzal and Hudson Fasching each had a goal and two assists and the New York Islanders snapped a six-game losing streak with a 6-3 win against the Winnipeg Jets Saturday.

Kyle Palmieri and Anders Lee also scored and Semyon Varlamov made 33 saves for the Islanders, who remain outside a wild-card playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with 12 games left in the regular season.

“It just shows what we are capable of,” Clutterbuck said. “I think consistency is what we are looking for now.”

Vladislav Namestnikov, Mason Appleton and Cole Perfetti scored for Winnipeg, which has lost two in a row after an impressive win over the Rangers on Tuesday. Connor Hellebuyck gave up five goals on 26 shots before being relieved by Laurent Brossoit halfway through the second period.

Clutterbuck scored twice in the first period to give New York an early 2-0 lead.

Namestnikov pulled the Jets to within a goal as he snuck behind the Islanders defense and deftly danced around Varlamov at 11:20 of the first period.

The Islanders responded with four consecutive goals to take command.

“We were all over them, we kind of smothered them early,” Fasching said. “They couldn’t really make any plays, couldn’t get anything going. We were blocking shots, we were really good in our D zone. We broke the puck out very quickly. Those are big things for us.”

Palmieri finished a cross-ice feed from Nelson at 15:47 to cap off a strong first period. Fasching, Barzal and Lee all scored in the middle frame to stretch the lead to 6-1.

“Stretching that lead makes it just easier on everybody,” Barzal said. “It takes the weight off everybody’s shoulders. … Stretching a lead like that is just crucial for the bench and the psyche.”

Barzal put the exclamation point on the win when he netted his 22nd of the season for a 5-1 lead. Fasching slid a puck past Hellebuyck and Barzal buried the loose puck at 9:11 of the second period. Brossoit replaced Hellebuyck following the goal.

“We got inside, we got in front of him,” Clutterbuck said of the Islanders ability to solve Hellebuyck. “A lot of our goals were second opportunities, not first opportunities. For the first two periods we did a good job of really getting to the inside and putting pucks there.”

Nikolaj Ehlers fired a sharp-angled shot that created a rebound for Appleton to pounce on at 7:73 of the third period, while Perfetti returned to the Winnipeg lineup after being scratched the previous four games and scored his 15th late in the game.

“They are a team that competes really hard,” Jets defenseman Josh Morrissey said after registering his 50th assist of the season. “Their physical, their forecheck game, defensive game, they are a hard-nosed team. They were winning every battle, faster to pucks, better execution, more desperate all over the ice. … They brought their game, played to their identity, brought their desperation but we didn’t do anything to match that.”

UP NEXT:

Jets: Face the Washington Capitals Sunday to conclude five-game road trip.

Islanders: Host New Jersey Devils Sunday

Seth Jarvis scored twice and the Carolina Hurricanes raced to a three-goal lead in the first period on the way to a 4-1 win over the New York Islanders on Tuesday night.

Trade-deadline acquisition Jake Guentzel had a three-point night with a goal and two assists for Carolina. Pyotr Kochetkov made 30 saves as the Hurricanes won their fourth straight game and tied a franchise record with their sixth consecutive road win. Martini Necas also scored and Brady Skjei added two assists.

“There are a lot of high-end players on this team, just trying to help the team out as much as I can,” Guentzel said. “As a line, lately we’ve had a little run here and it’s been fun. Hopefully it kind of keeps going and will see what happens.”

Kyle Palmieri scored for New York. Ilya Sorokin finished with 31 saves for the Islanders, who lost their fifth straight and have been outscored 20-6 during the stretch.

The Islanders remain on the outside of the Eastern Conference playoff picture, with hopes of reaching the postseason dwindling with each loss.

Necas delivered a back-breaking power-play goal at 19:58 of the first for Carolina. The Czechia native weaved into the offensive zone and sent a wrist shot past the blocker of Sorokin in the closing seconds for a three-goal advantage. Evgeny Kuznetsov and Skjei assisted.

“Thats a huge goal,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “End of the first number one, power play and kind of an individual effort obviously. I don’t want to say it put the game away, but it certainly gives you a nice cushion and a huge goal.”

Jarvis opened the scoring when he jammed a puck through the legs of an outstretched Sorokin at 12:48. Jarvis scored his second of the game and 25th of the season just over two minutes later with a one-timer from the slot at 14:53.

“Guentzel is a high-end player and I expect him to make those kind of plays and he did,” Jarvis said of Guentzel. “He did a great job drawing a lot of people to him and left me kind of open in the slot and I basically had the whole net to shoot at.”

Fasching was a late addition to the lineup and Pierre Engvall did not dress after participating in warmups. Engvall, who signed a seven-year contract extension with New York this past offseason, was a healthy scratch for the third time this season and first time under new coach Patrick Roy.

Palmieri smoothly collected a rebound from Brock Nelson’s wrist shot and deposited a backhand to get the Islanders on the board and spoil Kochetkov’s shutout bid at 4:30 of the third.

“I’m not happy to lose a hockey game, don’t get me wrong here,” Islanders coach Patrick Roy said. “But I thought that was something that I think we can build on.”

Guentzel scored an empty-net goal in the closing minutes of the third.

Hurricanes defenseman Brent Burns participated in his 830th consecutive game, tying Andrew Cogliano for the seventh-longest streak in NHL history.

UP NEXT

Hurricanes: Host Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday.

Islanders: Visit Detroit Red Wings on Thursday.