In Raleigh, after taking a 3-1 lead n the opening stanza, the Hurricanes surrendered two goals to the New York Islanders in the middle frame to head to the third period, tied, 3-3. 
In the third, Carolina hit for three unanswered goals in a 6-3 win and 4-2 series win over the Islanders.
Carolina advances to face to the New York Rangers in the second round.
“The start of the game was great. That at least got us a nice lead,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “They had their push, and you’ve got to give [the Islanders] a lot of credit. They just kept coming. We had to play really well to win this series.
“It’s hard to win a playoff round. Sometimes you forget that. I’m proud of the group because that’s a good accomplishment, but that’s not what we’re shooting for.”
The third period outburst by the Canes was started by Jack Drury at 4:36, giving Carolina a 4-3 lead. He scored off a shot from the left circle.
Off the face off at center ice, a dump in by the Canes caromed off a stanchion toward a vacated crease where the Isles Semyon Varlamov had gone to play the dump in.
Stefan Noesen needed only to tap the puck home for a 5-3 lead.
The two goals were scored eight seconds apart.
Seth Jarvis iced the game with an empty-net marker at 18:21, for the 6-3 final count on the scoreboard.
“I mean, that’s just a tough way to lose a game,” the Islanders’ Anders Lee said. “We were grinding back, stayed in the fight all night. We believed what we were doing, believed we were going to win this hockey game, and two bounces like that that. … It’s tough to swallow, but that’s how it goes sometimes.”
Frederik Andersen made 22 saves in the win.
In the first period, the Hurricanes had seemingly taken control of the game early.
Carolina took a 1-0 lead on its first shot of the game at 1:23 of the first period.
Teuvo Teravainen scored at 1:23 of the first period to give the Canes a 1-0 lead, scoring off low in the left circle.
Carolina pushed the advantage to 2-0 on a power play strike by Andrei Svechnikov at 3:13.
Just 41 seconds later, the Islanders’ Mike Reilly hit off a power play to trim the deficit to 2-1. .
“I am very proud of this group because they were resilient,” New York coach Patrick Roy said. “I mean, even tonight they show that. That’s how they were all year. I mean, it would have been easy to pack it in, and it’s not what we did.
“I feel like we deserve better. I thought we played some good hockey in that series. Losing in five, I feel like we deserve a little bit better, and I’m not saying we should have won that series, (but) I’m saying that we could go home right now and play game No. 6 easily, and instead it’s over.”
Evgeny Kuznetsov responded for Carolina with a penalty shot at 13:22.
In the middle frame, the Islanders rallied with a pair of goals to get the game tied, 2-2.
Brock Nelson trimmed the gap to 3-2 at 3:47, scoring off a shot that deflected off the Canes’ Jalen Chatfield.
“We knew we kind of let them crawl back into it in the second,” Jarvis said. “You don’t want to do that, especially with a team like that that can score and just the momentum it gives them. With so many good veterans, they kept us calm. We never really got flustered. They made sure we knew what was at stake. We just came out in the third and executed.”
With 22 seconds left on the period clock, Casey Cizikas knotted the match, 2-2, with a shot into an empty cage after Andersen appeared to lose an edge. 
Varlamov made 32 saves in the loss.
“I’m proud of every single player in here,” Islanders forward Jean-Gabriel Pageau said. “Everybody thought we weren’t going to make the playoffs. We proved everyone wrong. Everyone said that they were going to sweep us. I thought we gave it a good shot. Didn’t really get the bounces. We’ll be back.”
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