RALEIGH, N.C. _ Justin William was nervous, a lot more than he expected. He admitted it. This one was different.
For the first time since last May, Williams was back in the Carolina Hurricanes' lineup Sunday, back on the ice before a sellout crowd at PNC Arena, competing, trying to win a tough hockey game.
And then doing it, dramatically. In the eighth round of a shootout, Canes coach Rod Brind'Amour finally turned to No. 14. Williams went over the boards and drilled a shot through the pads of goalie Thomas Greiss of the New York Islanders.
When the Canes' James Reimer then denied the Islanders' Anders Lee, later joking that he had prolonged the shootout long enough for Williams to get his chance, the Canes had a 2-1 win and had put an end to a three-game losing streak.
"I mean, I was nervous the whole game, to be honest," Williams said. "It was like a playoff game out there. That's what it felt like."
Williams' last win in a Canes uniform came against the Islanders, in the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs, in Game 4 of the second-round series. The Canes swept that series before being swept by the Boston Bruins in the Eastern Conference finals.
Williams, the Canes captain last year, had a huge decision to make. At age 37, he could retire with three Stanley Cup rings and a career in full, or take his time and see if the desire to play was still there. He decided to "step away" from the game and did for months, but came back to the Canes, signed a contract this month, practiced and finally went on the ice Sunday _ now 38 _ with the Canes sitting below the playoff line and missing injured defenseman Dougie Hamilton.
"He certainly didn't look out of place," Brind'Amour said. "Right from the start, his first shift was a good shift. I expected him to be a little more rusty, just the pace, but he fit right in."
Brind'Amour calls Williams the "ultimate pro" and his value to the Canes (28-18-3) could be immeasurable the rest of the season as they fight to earn another playoff berth. It was quite measurable Sunday as Williams, on the fourth line, had 18 shifts and 13:06 of ice time.
It was another tight-checking, fight-for-every-inch kind of game between the Canes and Islanders (28-15-5). "A playoff-style game," Isles coach Barry Trotz called it.
Andrei Svechnikov scored his 19th of the season in the first period, ripping a one-timer from the right circle for his first goal in seven games. Lee tied the score 1-1 in the second, following up a rebound.
Reimer and Greiss took it from there, Reimer making 26 saves and Greiss 31. Both teams had their chances in overtime, Greiss stopping shots by Jordan Staal and Sebastian Aho, and it was on to the shootout.
The Canes, shooting first, sent out Svechnikov, who scored and Teuvo Teravainen scored as the third shooter. But Mathew Barzal and Anthony Beauvillier answered for the Isles.
Martin Necas, Ryan Dzingel, Jaccob Slavin and Nino Niederreiter all failed to score for the Canes, putting added pressure on Reimer. With nearly everyone in the building screaming for Williams, Brind'Amour finally turned to his former Canes teammate and good friend.
"He's been out for a long time, so I wasn't sure if he had even taken breakaways for a long time," Brind'Amour said.
Williams' shootout-winning goal was the fifth of his career and his first since Nov. 16, 2011, when Williams was with the Loa Angeles Kings and beat the Anaheim Ducks.
"The teams weren't giving an inch and it could have gone either way," Williams said of the Metropolitan Division game. "But thankful for the opportunity to take a penalty shot."
Asked if he surprised it took until the eighth slot to get the tap on the shoulder from Brind'Amour, a smiling Williams said, "I assumed I'd maybe be on the 10-12 sheet. He tapped me a little earlier than I thought."
Williams, with another smile, said he didn't have time for the nerves to jangle at that point.
"Just breathe, take a deep breath and say, 'Here we go,'" Williams said. "As I said before the game, trust yourself, trust your ability, trust your instincts and go get it."
The Islanders were stung Saturday with a 6-4 loss to the Washington Capitals, who scored five goals in the third. They had their chances, too. But it was if the script for this game was written all along for Williams to win it.
"He came back, first game back, and he scored," Svechnikov said. "It's kind of his game. Everyone was super excited."
