The Carolina Hurricanes defeated the New York Islanders by a score of 3-1, taking a 1-0 lead in their first-round matchup. Carolina won Game One in last year's matchup as well and history repeated itself once again.
Evgeny Kuznetsov and Kyle MacLean opened the scoring for their respective teams in the first, and after that, the two teams played a tight defensive game with great goaltending up until the third.
In the third, Stefan Noesen scored to give the Hurricanes the lead at 03:44. Up until that point, Frederick Anderson and Semyon Varlamov had been dueling each other in between the crease, so the goal that was scored by Noesen felt like it would be the game-winner.
That feeling would be correct as Martin Necas would get the empty net goal at 18:28 in the third to seal the win. Frederick Anderson saved 33 of 34 Islanders shots and continued his hot stretch to end the regular season. Varlamov saved 23/25 shots and was by no means the reason the Islanders lost.
Here are three takeaways from Game one and what it can mean for the rest of the series:
1. Kuznetsov still shines in the postseason
The opening goal by Kuznetsov was his 30th career postseason goal. There's no doubt he shows up in the biggest moments. Some players just thrive in the postseason.
In 2017-2018 when the Capitals won the Stanley Cup, Kuznetsov had 12 goals, 20 assists, and 32 points and was one of Washington's best players that postseason.
He doesn't have to produce at that rate because of the level of talent Carolina possesses. But all Carolina fans should be excited if Kuznetsov shows up in the postseason like he has in years past.
2. The Islanders are going to have to keep getting depth scoring
The Islanders were without Jean Gabriel Pageau in game one and their only goal came from Kyle MacLean, who made his NHL debut this year.
The defense and goaltending are going to be there for New York but they have to get their offense going in this series from their top guys or they'll stand no chance.
Islanders hockey is all about defense and low-scoring games, but Carolina had the second-best power play in the NHL. Eventually, Carolina will be able to break the Islanders' defensive scheme with their potent offense, making it more important that the Isles find some offense in game two.
3. Goals might be at a premium in this series
If this series is low-scoring, no one will be surprised. Carolina had the best penalty kill in the NHL this season and with the Islanders system, we could see every game come down to wire. That was in full effect in game one. Goals will be hard to come by.