NHL

Islanders hang on to beat Hurricanes

RALEIGH, N.C. — Even as the lead quickly grew to four goals, Matt Martin and the Islanders never felt comfortable.

It turned out they needed each of those goals — plus one more — to finally beat the Hurricanes.

Colin McDonald had two goals and an assist, and Martin also scored twice for the Islanders, who held on for a 5-4 victory on Tuesday night.

“You could just tell it was going to be a bit of a crazy game,” Martin said. “Obviously, you never want to give up a 4-0 lead but we held on and found a way to win.”

McDonald scored both of his goals in the Islanders’ four-goal first period. Cal Clutterbuck and Martin also scored in the burst that produced four goals in a span of 7:15.

A combined 20 players had a point in this matchup of the bottom two teams in the Metropolitan Division.

“We’re not going to make the playoffs this year, but guys are fighting for jobs for next year,” McDonald said.

Anders Nilsson stopped 24 shots for the Islanders, who are 13-4-1 in their last 18 road games and have won three of four overall. Thomas Hickey and Ryan Strome had two assists apiece for the Isles.

Carolina’s Cam Ward stopped six shots, but allowed three goals before he was replaced by Anton Khudobin (21 saves) 6:12 in.