Justin Williams' Clutch Goal Hands Hurricanes 3-0 Series Lead vs. Islanders

Justin Williams scored the game-winning goal with 9:45 remaining in the third period as the Carolina Hurricanes beat the New York Islanders 5-2 in Game 3 of their NHL Eastern Conference semifinal playoff series.

The Hurricanes lost 1-0 and 2-1 leads but preserved their third edge to beat the Islanders, who fell behind 3-0 in their best-of-seven matchup.

Carolina led 3-2 heading into the final minute before two empty-net goals closed the game.

Teuvo Teravainen scored twice and Justin Faulk and Sebastian Aho each found the net once. Curtis McElhinney added 28 saves.

Devon Toews and Josh Bailey scored New York's goals.

The Hurricanes' play after the second intermission determined the game's outcome yet again in this series.

Carolina, which outscored New York 3-0 in the third period, has earned six third-period or overtime goals during the second round. The Islanders have not scored after the second period yet.

In its past five games (three versus New York and two against the Washington Capitals), Carolina has outscored the opposition 11-0 after the second period.

Williams' game-winning shot wasn't exactly a snipe, as Cory Lavalette of the North State Journal noted:

However, he got the job done en route to giving his team the lead.

The third period wasn't symbolic of the entire game, though, as the two teams skated to a 2-2 tie through two periods.

Teravainen scored the opening goal off a rebound:

But the Islanders found themselves on the power play 22 seconds later. Toews made the Hurricanes pay as he found daylight between a scrum in front of the net for the Isles' first goal:

The Islanders could have scored another, but McElhinney made the save of the game on Jordan Eberle thanks to his left skate:

McElhinney, who turns 36 years old on May 23, was making his first career postseason start. He also made a little history, per Sara Civian of The Athletic:

Later on, the Canes enjoyed a fantastic stroke of timing luck when Faulk emerged from the penalty box just in time to emerge on the breakaway and score his team's second goal:

Faulk scored after catching a Warren Foegele flip pass, and he told reporters that he felt like a certain baseball legend who played for his home-state Minnesota Twins:

Hunter, who played from 1997 to 2015, is a nine-time Gold Glove winner.

The Islanders wouldn't go away quietly, though, as a Justin Bailey snipe tied it up.

What happened after the score may have been more notable, however. Islanders center Brock Nelson patted McIlhinney on the helmet:

Civian called the act "disrespectful":

Sportsnet called it "somewhere between sassy and unsportsmanlike."

Nelson offered an explanation to Andrew Gross of Newsday after the game:

Regardless of one's take on the matter, the Bailey goal helped the Islanders earn a 2-2 tie with the Hurricanes heading into the third period.

Once there, Williams netted the game-winner, which Islanders goalie Robin Lehner took responsibility for:

Perhaps Lehner wants that moment back, but he did save 33 shots on 36 attempts. The final two empty-netters, which Teravainen and Aho put home, occurred in the final minute.

The bigger issue was the Islander attack in the third period: New York only had two shots on goal in the final 14 minutes of the game.

Arthur Staple of The Athletic provided one example of the offensive issues:

The Islanders will need to figure things out on that end to survive and advance, as New York has only scored three goals in its past three games.

Carolina will host Game 4 on Friday at 7 p.m. ET. NBCSN will televise the game.