The New York Islanders faced a 3-0 series deficit against the Carolina Hurricanes entering Saturday, but an overtime win at UBS Arena kept the series alive.
The Carolina Hurricanes won the first three games of the series with their blend of defensive excellence, timely scoring and solid goaltending.
It looked like the Hurricanes might be poised to sweep New York out of the playoffs, but Saturday's dramatics changed all of that.
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Mathew Barzal Carries Islanders to OT Win, Sets up Game 5
After the Hurricanes chased Islanders franchise goaltender Ilya Sorokin in Game 4, Patrick Roy went back to Semyon Varlamov in net Saturday, and the decision paid off.
Varlamov kept the Hurricanes at bay, allowing the Isles to rally from just a 1-0 deficit to take a 2-1 lead on goals by Mathew Barzal and J.G. Pageau.
Carolina got a power play goal to force overtime, but Barzal tipped home a Robert Bortuzzo blast to end the game and keep the Isles alive.
The effort from Barzal was exactly what the doctor ordered for the star Islanders center, who became something of a playoff hero earlier in his career but had been held at bay last year by the Hurricanes and so far again this year.
The Islanders are fairly outmatched by the Hurricanes in terms of top end skill, but a red-hot Barzal goes a long way toward bridging that gap.
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