Hurricanes remain tough at home, defeat Islanders
RALEIGH, N.C. -- Rookie Brock McGinn had one goal and three assists, while Lee Stempniak scored the game-winning goal early in the third as the Carolina Hurricanes remained nearly unbeatable at home, downing the New York Islanders 7-4 Saturday night.
Carolina (21-15-7) scored 21 goals in a four-game homestand sweep of Boston, Columbus, Buffalo and the Islanders, improving to 14-1-1 in its last 16 games at PNC Arena.
The Islanders (16-17-8), playing their third game in four nights, led by two goals early in the second, but couldn't keep pace with a fast Carolina team without injured defensemen Johnny Boychuk and Travis Hamonic as the Hurricanes registered 45 shots.
Stempniak, Elias Lindholm and Jordan Staal each had three-point nights. Lindholm now has five points in three games since coming off injured reserve, Meanwhile, McGinn, a rookie, has seven points in that same span after notching just five points in his first 23 games this season.
Islanders captain John Tavares tied the scored 1:08 into the third with his fifth goal in the last two games before Stempniak rifled a shot over the glove of Thomas Greiss off a faceoff as Carolina took the lead for good. It was Stempniak's first point in eight games.
Teuvo Teravainen sealed the victory with his 10th of the season with 8:16 left on a deflection, while Staal added his ninth two minutes later to cap a three-goal third period.
Despite constant offensive pressure by the Hurricanes, the Islanders took a 3-1 lead early in the second period on Jason Chimera's seventh goal of the season.
But the Hurricanes came storming back to tie it on goals four minutes apart by Justin Faulk and Lindholm.
Defenseman Brett Pesce then joined the rush with 3:03 left in the period to cap Carolina's three-goal second, notching his second goal of the season and first in 16 games.
The three goals gave the Hurricanes 47 second-period goals this season -- good for fifth best in the NHL -- and a 4-3 cushion heading into the third period.
The Islanders grabbed a 2-1 lead after 20 minutes in a fast-paced first period that featured a combined 29 shots.
New York scored early and late as Tavares picked up where he left off a night earlier in which he registered a hat trick at Florida, scoring on a tip-in 4:16 into the game. The red-hot Tavares now has 19 goals in 27 career games against Carolina.
Anders Lee added his 15th goal of the season with 1:52 left on a 40-footer through traffic.
Meanwhile, Carolina got its lone score of the period with 3:34 left as McGinn picked up his fourth goal of the four-game homestand, pouncing on a rebound off a shot from Lindholm.
NOTES: Carolina G Cam Ward made his 19th straight start, dating to Dec. 3. ... G Eddie Lack (concussion) has missed eight games in a row, but Hurricanes coach Bill Peters said Lack is close to returning. ... Ward entered the game with a 19-4-4 career record against the Islanders. ... This was just New York's 18th road game, which is tied for the league low with St. Louis and Ottawa. ... After traveling to Boston on Monday, the Islanders play eight of nine at home, including six in a row. ... Islanders LW Jason Chimera is eight games shy of 1,000 for his career. ... The Islanders were without D Johnny Boychuk, who played 21 minutes on Friday night at Florida but couldn't go after the pregame skate because of an undisclosed injury.