Uniondale, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - A four-goal second period boosted the Carolina Hurricanes in their 5-3 win over the New York Islanders on Saturday.
Jay McClement scored two goals for his first multi-goal game since a 2010 hat trick, Brad Malone tallied a goal and an assist, and Justin Faulk and Michal Jordan also scored in Carolina's third straight win.
Cam Ward made 21 saves in the victory.
The Islanders lost a two-game winning streak after Chad Johnson allowed all five Carolina goals on 41 shots. Michael Grabner, Nikolay Kulemin and John Tavares scored New York's goals.
"I liked the way we played," said Carolina coach Bill Peters. "We played a disciplined game. They've got a very good power play, so we didn't put it on display."
The Hurricanes took the lead with a power-play goal early in the second period. Johnson made the initial save on Eric Staal's shot, but the rebound kicked out to Faulk jumping into the play. He had time to settle the puck and fire the shot before Johnson could get in position for the save.
At the midpoint of the second period, McClement scored his second goal. The Islanders did not pick him up coming off the bench for a line change, and Andrej Nestrasil's pass allowed McClement to step into a shot that beat Johnson.
Kulemin scored an impressive goal to cut New York's deficit to one. He lowered his shoulder and shrugged off pressure from Faulk and was able to get the puck in the net while losing his balance.
The Hurricanes responded quickly with two more goals. First, Nestrasil fired a shot that trickled through Johnson's pads, and Malone tapped it over the line before Johnson could find the puck behind him. Jordan scored on the power play with less than 10 seconds to play in the second.
"You can't give up two power-play goals and expect to win," said Islanders coach Jack Capuano.
Tavares scored the lone third-period goal. Ward left the rebound from a Nick Leddy shot in the slot for Tavares to deposit into the net for his 30th of the season.
The Islanders, though, could not get muster anything with the goaltender pulled.
Grabner used his speed to put the Islanders ahead in the first period. Jordan was in the shooting lane until Grabner raced past him and snapped a shot by Ward.
The game was tied by McClement with 2 1/2 minutes left in the first. Although it appeared he kicked the puck into the net, the goal withstood scrutiny from the NHL's situation room.
Game Notes
Carolina earned its only win in the four-game season series ... New York fell to 8-4-0 in the second half of back-to-back sets while the Hurricanes improved to 3-9-1 ... Tavares finished with eight points in four games against the Hurricanes this season ... A day after playing against Carolina as a member of the Capitals, Jack Hillen suited up for the Hurricanes following Saturday's trade.
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.