Live by the troll, die by the troll.
Brock Nelson did his best to rattle the Hurricanes' cage and rustle some feathers in the Islanders' second-round series against Carolina, and he did a fine job. But in the end, both Nelson and his Isles were forced to swallow a dose of their own medicine.
The New York forward pulled out a solid troll job in Game 3 this week when he patted Hurricanes goalie Curtis McElhinney on the head after McElhinney gave up a goal to Josh Bailey. It was an amusingly disrespectful move from Nelson that added a bit of salt in the wound for the goaltender. And if it didn't tickle your pest bone enough, he followed it up by shoving Carolina defenseman Dougie Hamilton behind the net.
It was pretty clear what he was trying to do.
Neither of those things were particularly necessary but playoff hockey often features a series of games within the games, and Nelson was likely trying to get under the skin of the Canes. Carolina held a 2-0 series lead at that point and the Islanders had been struggling to get much of anything going. Might as well trying something, even if it's a little petty.
However, not only did the Hurricanes still go on to win that game and take a 3-0 series lead, they also went on to win Friday night's game to complete the sweep. After the Islanders were eliminated with a 5-2 loss in Raleigh, the two teams met for the ceremonial handshake at center ice. That's when Nelson got served a cold dose of payback.
As Hamilton greeted Nelson in the handshake line, he made sure to give him a generous pat on the head before sending him off for a nice summer vacation. It would seem Nelson wasn't expecting his earlier troll to come back and haunt him, as he appeared to be straight-up stunned by Hamilton's gesture. The look-back was incredible comedy.
Dougie Hamilton pats Brock Nelson on the head in the handshake line after sweeping the Islanders. This coming after Game 3 where Nelson patted McElhinney on the head aftering scoring.
Beautiful. pic.twitter.com/p3HVOs1Xhl
— Flintor (@TheFlintor) May 4, 2019
You gotta give credit to Hamilton for quietly taking Nelson's number and waiting for the perfect opportunity to exact his revenge, and then some more credit for nailing it. It could have only been better had McElhinney been the guy to deliver the final blow.
The Hurricanes' official Twitter account decided to have some fun with the playful revenge pat as well, sharing the clip and referencing the caption that the Islanders used when sharing the original incident from Nelson.
Hamilton's revenge and the Canes' social media response should count as additional resounding wins in this series, so congratulations to Carolina for becoming the first team to ever sweep a series 6-0.
