Tavares nets OT winner as Isles bounce back
RALEIGH, N.C. — The Islanders were in danger of losing what their interim coach called a must-win game — until they came up with two rapid-fire goals, then set up their captain for the winner.
John Tavares scored 34 seconds into overtime, and the Isles beat the Hurricanes 3-2 on Tuesday night.
Joshua Ho-Sang and Jason Chimera scored in the final 65 seconds of the second period to help the Islanders erase a 2-0 deficit and eventually claim a game they couldn’t afford to lose.
“We definitely got better as the game went on,” interim coach Doug Weight said.
Tavares’ winner was set up by Ho-Sang’s takeaway at center ice. Ho-Sang brought the puck across the blue line and dropped a pass to Tavares, who snapped it past a screened Cam Ward.
“I just tried to pick a corner — didn’t think he was set,” Tavares said.
The goaltending was much better on both sides than it was one night earlier during Carolina’s 8-4 victory in Brooklyn. Thomas Greiss made 30 saves a night after allowing four goals on 16 shots in relief.
“Every time you get lit up or you don’t have the best game, you want to get back out there right away,” Greiss said.
After that loss Monday night, Weight called Tuesday’s match “the biggest game of the year” for the Islanders because “it’s going to dictate a lot of what’s going to happen the next month.” —