New York Islanders at Carolina Hurricanes
· ESPN+ Hockey NightMathew Barzal has goal and 3 assists, Islanders outlast Hurricanes 5-4 in OT
Barzal added three assists and Semyon Varlamov stopped 39 shots to help the Islanders win for the fourth time in six games.
Kyle Palmieri, Pierre Engvall, Bo Horvat and Simon Holmstrom also scored for New York.
A loss Tuesday night loss to New Jersey didn’t sit well with the Islanders, coach Lane Lambert said. New York led 4-2 in the third period and allowed New Jersey to score the winner with 23 seconds left.
“We needed to bounce back,” Lambert said. “I thought the last eight minutes, we played pretty darn good. It was a darn shame that the puck went in at the end (of regulation) but Varlamov was outstanding and it was nice to get rewarded.”
The Islanders had lost four games in overtime this season without a win before breaking through on Thursday.
“It was nice to get the monkey off our back as a group,” Barzal said. “We were trying not to clock watch, with what’s been going on. We found a way to get back on the horse.”
Aho scored with goalie Pyotr Kochetkov off for an extra skater, beating Varlamov and the clock.
“You’re leading 4-3 and you give up a goal like that and you don’t want to lose the game,” Varlamov said. “You lose the game and everybody’s miserable, right? We wanted to make sure we got a ‘W.’ It’s a great feeling.”
Jalen Chatfield, Jordan Staal and Jack Drury added goals for Carolina. Kochetkov made 11 saves.
Palmieri beat Kochetkov with a backhander on a power play at 6:41 in the third period to break a 3-3 tie. A delay-of-game penalty on Staal gave the Islanders the power play.
The Islanders didn’t have a shot attempt for the first 12 minutes of the second period, and only 10 shots on goal in the first 40 minutes, but still managed to take a 3-2 lead into the third period.
Engvall skated past Jesperi Kotkaniemi from the right boards to the slot and knuckled a low shot between Kochetkov’s pads to give New York a 3-2 lead with 1:57 left in the second.
UP NEXT
Islanders: At Florida on Saturday.
Hurricanes: Host Buffalo on Saturday night.
Regular Season SeriesSeries tied 1-1
Scoring Summary
![]() |
Goal | 1st Period 8:08 | Jalen Chatfield Goal (2) Wrist Shot, assists: Michael Bunting (10), Dmitry Orlov (8) |
![]() |
Goal | 1st Period 18:00 | Bo Horvat Goal (7) Tip-In, assists: Mathew Barzal (14), Anders Lee (3) |
![]() |
Goal | 2nd Period 2:01 | Jordan Staal Goal (2) Snap Shot, assists: Jordan Martinook (6), Jaccob Slavin (9) |
![]() |
Goal | 2nd Period 15:59 | Simon Holmstrom Goal (6) Backhand, assists: Jean-Gabriel Pageau (7) |
![]() |
Goal | 2nd Period 18:03 | Pierre Engvall Goal (2) Wrist Shot, assists: Mathew Barzal (15), Noah Dobson (14) |
![]() |
Goal | 3rd Period 0:39 | Jack Drury Goal (2) Snap Shot, assists: Stefan Noesen (7), Martin Necas (9) |
![]() |
Goal | 3rd Period 6:41 | Kyle Palmieri Goal (6) Backhand, assists: Noah Dobson (15), Mathew Barzal (16) |
![]() |
Goal | 3rd Period 19:57 | Sebastian Aho Goal (6) Backhand, assists: Jordan Staal (6), Brent Burns (5) |
![]() |
Goal | 4th Period 2:46 | Mathew Barzal Goal (7) Snap Shot, assists: Noah Dobson (16) |
Statistics
NYI |
CAR |
|
|---|---|---|
| 31 | Blocked Shots | 10 |
| 22 | Hits | 15 |
| 10 | Takeaways | 8 |
| 16 | Shots | 43 |
| 1 | Power Play Goals | 0 |
| 4 | Power Play Opportunities | 3 |
| 25.0 | Power Play Percentage | 0.0 |
| 1 | Short Handed Goals | 0 |
| 0 | Shootout Goals | 0 |
| 34 | Faceoffs Won | 29 |
| 54.0 | Faceoff Win Percent | 46.0 |
| 7 | Giveaways | 8 |
| 3 | Total Penalties | 4 |
| 6 | Penalty Minutes | 8 |
Carolina Hurricanes Injuries
| NAME, POS | STATUS | DATE |
|---|---|---|
| Alexander Nikishin, D | Day-To-Day | Dec 23 |
| William Carrier, LW | Out | Dec 23 |
| Jaccob Slavin, D | Injured Reserve | Dec 22 |
| Jordan Martinook, LW | Out | Dec 22 |
| Seth Jarvis, C | Injured Reserve | Dec 22 |
New York Islanders Injuries
| NAME, POS | STATUS | DATE |
|---|---|---|
| Bo Horvat, C | Out | Dec 22 |
| Ilya Sorokin, G | Out | Dec 22 |
| Kyle Palmieri, C | Injured Reserve | Nov 30 |
Game Information
Lenovo Center
Location: Raleigh, NC
Attendance: 18,700 | Capacity:
Location: Raleigh, NC
Attendance: 18,700 | Capacity:
2025-26 Metropolitan Division Standings
| TEAM | W | L | PTS | OTL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Carolina |
22 | 11 | 47 | 3 |
Philadelphia |
19 | 10 | 45 | 7 |
NY Islanders |
20 | 13 | 44 | 4 |
Washington |
19 | 13 | 43 | 5 |
NY Rangers |
19 | 16 | 42 | 4 |
New Jersey |
20 | 16 | 41 | 1 |
Pittsburgh |
15 | 12 | 39 | 9 |
Columbus |
15 | 15 | 36 | 6 |




NYI
CAR
Carolina
Philadelphia
NY Islanders
Washington
NY Rangers
New Jersey
Pittsburgh
Columbus