Ron Hainsey knows the Carolina Hurricanes need to make up ground quickly to reach the playoffs for the first time in eight years.
That's why he was more focused on the importance of their latest win than getting his first two-goal game since Dec. 2, 2008.
"We need all the points we can get," Hainsey said after his second goal of the game at 2:08 of overtime lifted the Hurricanes to a 5-4 victory over the New York Islanders on Saturday night.
Hainsey hammered a feed from Justin Faulk from the slot after Jordan Staal won an offensive zone faceoff from John Tavares, who broke his stick on the play.
"We need them all. That's kind of the bottom line. We had an opportunity before the (All-Star) break with five games to get ourselves into a good spot (and) we got zero points out of 10," Hainsey said.
Carolina pulled four points behind Philadelphia for the Eastern Conference's second wild-card spot. The Islanders, who also lost 5-4 at Detroit on Friday night, are one point behind the Hurricanes.
Jacob Slavin, Lee Stempniak and Teuvo Teravainen also scored to help Carolina win its third straight after the All-Star Break. Cam Ward made 33 saves.
"It's a huge win for us," Stempniak said. "It's a huge two points for us."
Anders Lee, Casey Cizikas, Brock Nelson and Josh Bailey scored for the Islanders, who are 6-1-2 in their last nine games. Jean-Francois Berube gave up all five Hurricanes goals on 25 shots.
"It was a tough game for me," said Berube, who acknowledged he struggled reading and reacting to plays. "I just wasn't sharp."
Bailey scored the game's only power-play goal, slamming a slap shot from the slot after an offensive zone faceoff 8:33 into the third to tie the score 4-4.
"We fought," Islanders interim coach Doug Weight said. "But (it's) disappointing to come out of the two games (this weekend) with one point."
The Hurricanes went 0 for 3 on the power play while the Islanders were 1 for 4.
Cizikas put the Islanders ahead 2-1 with a diving deflection of Ryan Strome's cross-ice pass at 2:36 of the second.
Hainsey tied it 21 seconds later and Stempniak gave the Hurricanes a 3-2 lead with his 10th at 4:37.
The Islanders then pressured Carolina for a wide stretch of the period, and it paid off when Nelson whipped his 11th of the season past Ward with a minute left in the middle period to tie it again.
The tie lasted for all of 58 seconds, as Berube could not control the rebound of Brock McGinn's shot and Teravainen's quick shot from the slot sent the Hurricanes into the second intermission with a 4-3 advantage.
"That's the way you've got to answer back," Hurricanes coach Bill Peters said. "The Teravainen goal with the clock winding down in the second becomes a huge goal."
The Hurricanes took a 1-0 lead on Slavin's left circle slap shot at 9:53, only to see the Islanders tie it on Lee's tip of Dennis Seidenberg shot at 11:14.
"It's going to happen," Islanders defenseman Johnny Boychuk said. "We did give up some goals that were uncharacteristic of our team."
NOTES: New York honored LW Jason Chimera with an on-ice ceremony before the opening faceoff for playing 1,000 NHL games. Owner Jon Ledecky presented Chimera with a silver stick, while C John Tavares and LW Andrew Ladd gave Chimera a framed collage and a framed jersey. ... During his pregame media briefing, Weight said Cal Clutterbuck suffered a lower body injury in Friday night's loss at Detroit and would be replaced in the lineup by Shane Prince. ... New York also scratched D Scott Mayfield and RW Stephen Gionta. ... Carolina scratched D Ryan Murphy, D Matt Tennyson and RW Ty Rattie. ... The NHL selected February for its Hockey Is For Everyone initiative. As part of the monthlong proposal the Islanders hosted You Can Play Night. According to its website, the You Can Play Project aims "to ensure the safety and inclusion of all in sports-including LGBTQ athletes, coaches and fans." ... The announced attendance at Barclays Center was 14,153.
UP NEXT
Hurricanes: At Washington on Tuesday night.
Islanders: Host Toronto on Monday night.
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