Home-and-Home Half-Sweet, Half-Sour

The Isles got three out of a possible four points against the Carolina Hurricanes in their home and home this past Tuesday and Wednesday, with a frustrating 3-2 overtime loss at home and then a resounding 6-3 win on the road. The Isles, prior to tonight's game in Boston, have been 4-0-0 on the road lately and outscored opponents 17-9.

The Isles went into the home part of the back-to-back and started out strong with a 2-0 lead after 2 periods. However, they fell apart in the third, allowing Carolina to come back with goals by Mike Commodore and Niclas Wallin (both of whom have only four goals between them), and going into overtime, Andy Sutton was called for a cross-check, after hardly a whistle was blown in the entire game, and soon after, Carolina had put the game away on a second-chance goal by Cory Stillman. The officiating was what killed the game, as Carolina had quite a few non-calls against them, including a too-many-men and a cross-check of their own.

However, the Isles kept their wits about them heading to Raleigh and the RBC Center, and they held this one all the way despite the threat of another comeback by the Canes. First was Sillinger, shorthanded, the first of two for him and of three shorthanded goals, which has set a team record. In between Sillinger's goals, Richard Park also scored a shortie. Then came the mounting retaliation by Carolina, scoring shortly after Sillinger's first on a shot by Eric Staal, followed by goals from Commodore and Matt Cullen. But rather than fold, the Isles kept pushing. Sean Bergenheim scored a great goal as he was pulled down by a Hurricane, and then Brendan Witt (Brendan Witt!!!) scored one to put it away for the Isles. Blake Comeau also added an empty-netter. Wade Dubielewicz, in relief for Rick DiPietro, made 44 saves, some of them extremely good, and despite taking 8 penalties, perhaps being in the penalty box was actually beneficial for the Isles last night.

Some bad news: Chris Campoli's dislocated shoulder has rendered him down and out for the season, as he has undergone surgery in Cleveland to repair the injury. He had 17 points on the season.