The New York Islanders were fighting for their playoff lives on Friday, and they played like it in game three of their matchup against the Carolina Hurricanes by making NHL history.
With the series at 2-0, the New York Islanders entered the third period engulfed in a 1-1 tie. That is until Kyle Palmieri changed things when he scored a power-play goal with just under four minutes left in the third period. That moment opened up the floodgates.
Not only was Palmieri’s tally the first power-play goal the New York Islanders have scored in the playoffs (their terrible power-play record extended much further and dates back to February), but it was the first of the four fastest goals scored in playoff history.
New York Islanders record (’22-’23): 42-31-9, 93 points
According to the NHL.com boxscore, Palmieri scored with 3:51 left in the third period and was quickly followed by a tally from Casey Cizikas — whose goal clocked in with 3:07 remaining in the game.
Two more New York Islanders in Scott Mayfield and Anders Lee also scored less than a minute apart and, incredibly, just over two minutes after Palmieri’s. Mayfield scored his goal with 1:49 remaining, and Lee tallied with 1:33 left.
For those counting, that means the New York Islanders scored four goals in two minutes and eighteen seconds. The record was previously held by the 1943-44 Montreal Canadiens, who scored four goals in 2:35 in an 11-0 playoff victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
More recently, the 2019-2020 Colorado Avalanche scored four in 2:36 in a playoff bubble outing against the Dallas Stars.