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— There are no bad wins in the playoffs, especially with the season on the line.
The how of the matter is very much an aside after Tuesday’s Game 5 in which the Islanders staved off elimination with a 3-2 win over the Hurricanes to send their first-round series back to Elmont and give their season at least a few more days of life.
It is Ilya Sorokin — of course it is Ilya Sorokin — who deserves much of the credit for this one, as the superstar goaltender finally made an imprint on the series to bail the Islanders out during a lifeless first period, finishing with 34 saves and helping extend the season with an all-around brilliant performance.
That did not happen without some nerves. Carolina’s Sebastian Aho cut a 3-1 Islanders lead to 3-2 with 9:32 to go in the third period, setting the stage for a late push in which the visitors had to hang on for their lives.
Just over a minute after Aho scored, the Islanders’ Sebastian Aho held Derek Stepan on a scoring chance, setting up a gut-check penalty kill. Thanks to some gutsy wall play from Scott Mayfield and Bo Horvat taking a high stick from Carolina’s Aho, the Islanders got through it.
Carolina’s chances would come at six-on-five as well, with the Islanders frantically skating for over two minutes after Rod Brind’Amour emptied his net.
