Trevor van Riemsdyk scored the tiebreaking goal with 6:49 left in the third period Sunday night as the Carolina Hurricanes edged the New York Islanders, 4-3, in a battle of nosediving Metropolitan Division teams at Barclays Center.
Van Riemsdyk’s shot banged off the crossbar and into the net for the Hurricanes, who won for just the fourth time in 15 games (4-9-2). Jaccob Slavin, Lee Stempniak and Victor Rask also scored for Carolina. Goalie Scott Darling recorded 26 saves.
Anders Lee scored twice and Josh Bailey added a goal for the last-place Islanders, who have lost 11 of 12 (1-7-4). Goalie Jaroslav Halak made 35 saves.
The Hurricanes took advantage of some tough luck and carelessness by the Islanders to take a quick 2-0 lead.
Slavin was credited with the first goal 2:50 into the game, when his slap shot snaked through a gaggle of players in front of Halak, ticked off the skate of Islanders defenseman Adam Pelech and caromed past Halak.
Stempniak doubled the lead 1:54 later when he intercepted Nick Leddy’s clearing pass near center ice and fired a shot that sailed under Halak’s stick hand.
The Islanders tied the score with two goals in a span of fewer than two minutes just beyond the midway point of the second.
Bailey cut the gap in half at the 10:29 mark when he got a stick on a shot from just inside the blue line by Ryan Pulock, who set up the score by retrieving a long rebound of a shot by John Tavares. Lee produced the equalizer just 1:53 later on a power play by putting back the rebound of another Tavares shot.
But the Hurricanes broke the tie a mere 102 seconds later when Rask swooped in and tucked a rebound of a Joakim Nordstrom shot into the right corner of the net.
Lee tied the game on the power play again 8:05 into the third, when he got his stick on Bailey’s pass into the crease and nudged the puck beneath Darling.
The Hurricanes, who allowed nine total goals in their last two third periods in crushing home losses, found a way to finish Sunday with van Riemsdyk’s goal — his second with Carolina and fourth game-winner among 10 career goals.
