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The New York Islanders lost 3-2 to the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night, dropping the first-round playoff series 0-3. Despite starting the game, Islanders’ goaltender Ilya Sorokin was pulled in the second period after allowing three goals on 14 shots. Semyon Varlamov came on in relie, stopping all eight shots he faced.
In the post-game interview, Islanders head coach Patrick Roy was asked about his decision to pull Ilya Sorokin from the game.
Roy explained:
"We win and lose as a team. Sometimes, we make changes as a coach because we feel we just want to change the momentum of the game. I'll leave it at that."
Roy's comments suggest he pulled Ilya Sorokin to swing momentum back in the Islanders' favor after falling behind 3-1 in the second period. The move worked as New York were able to get on the board with a goal from Brock Nelson later in the period after Varlamov entered the game. However, it was already too late as the Hurricanes held on through a scoreless third period to secure a 3-2 victory.
Ilya Sorokin’s Islanders 3-2 loss to the Hurricanes
The Hurricanes got on the board first with a goal from Brent Burns in the first period. Burns wristed a shot from the point that beat Islanders goalie Ilya Sorokin to give Carolina a 1-0 lead.
The Hurricanes doubled their lead in the same period when Dmitry Orlov scored after a nice setup from Andrei Svechnikov. Orlov carried the puck into the left circle before firing a shot shortside past Sorokin.
The Islanders cut the deficit to 2-1 early in the second period via a goal from Pierre Engvall. He scored on a rebound in front of the net after a pass from Anders Lee. However, Sebastian Aho restored Carolina's two-goal advantage later in the period, scoring on the rush to make it to the 3-1 Hurricanes.
The Islanders rallied to pull within one when Brock Nelson netted a rebound goal, making it 3-2. But that was as close as they would get, as the Hurricanes held on for the 3-2 victory.
"It was a hard-fought game," Roy said. "There weren't many chances on both sides, it was a playoff game. We had a good push and in the third we had our chances, but the puck wasn't bouncing our way."
Roy believed that they had the potential to emerge victorious in both Game 1 and the present game. However, he said,
“They took it away from us, but that's the playoffs. We've been resilient all year."
The Islanders now face elimination down three games to none as they head into Game 4 on Saturday.
