Watch: Scrum after Hurricanes empty netter sets stage for chippy Game 3

A late slash from Islanders center Brock Nelson on Guentzel after the goal caused a scrum that resulted in three first three of nine misconduct penalties called in the final minute of the game. 

The game was chippy from puck drop, with Carolina's Jesperi Kotkaniemi blowing up New York's Cal Clutterbuck behind his own goal. Stefan Noesen also got in the mix, fighting New York's Kyle MacLean in the first period and scrapping with Matt Martin as the Islanders tried to reestablish some sort of physical presence before Game 3 in New York on Thursday. 

While the Islanders played sound defense all game, sacrificing their bodies to block 36 shots, they couldn't hold out against Carolina's intense pressure forever. 

After New York's Anders Lee put the Islanders up 3-0 early in the second period the Hurricanes ratcheted up the pressure, allowing just one shot on goal in the final 34:57 according to NHL.com's Cory Wright. 

Carolina veteran Jordan Martinook, who scored the game-winning goal, said after the game he felt the shift in momentum. 

“I think the last probably eight minutes of the second period, we were in their zone and it felt like we were starting to take the game over,” Martinook said, via ESPN. "Then in the third period, you ride that momentum that you built in the second and just try to keep it going.

“I felt in the third, it was just wave after wave. We were coming at them, and we didn't give them anything, which is key.”

The Islanders frustration is understandable. 

This is the third time New York has met Carolina in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and Monday night's result dropped the Islanders record to 2-10 in those games. That history, capped with the third period implosion at PNC Arena, should have Islanders head coach Patrick Roy's squad searching for answers ahead of Game 3. 

“This one hurts the gut,” Lee said postgame, via the team's website. 

"But we'll take these two days off to our advantage. We'll get home in front of our fans and let them give us some more juice. This thing's far from over."

Coming back from a two game deficit against the betting favorites to win the Stanley Cup is a tall order for the Islanders. But if they're going out, they'll do their best to beat up the Hurricanes on the way.