It’s deja vu all over again as the New York Islanders and Carolina Hurricanes face off in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs for a second consecutive season.
The Hurricanes took care of the Islanders in six games last season and are still knocking on the door of being the legitimate Stanley Cup contender that the hockey world has expected them to be for the last half-decade. While they made the Eastern Conference Finals last year, they haven’t made a Cup Final since they hoisted the trophy in 2006. Could this be the year?
They will have to get through the Islanders again to do so. New York has overcome a season filled with trials and tribulations. There have been lengthy losing streaks, the firing of head coach Lane Lambert, the hiring of Patrick Roy, and a mad dash just to get into the dance. While they have made it, they might be without one of their top players in defenseman Noah Dobson, who suffered an injury last week and missed the final three games of the regular season.
He has been skating on his own, but he is questionable as of now.
Islanders vs. Hurricanes 1st Round Schedule
| Game | Date | Time (ET) | Venue | TV |
| 1 | Saturday, April 20 | 5 p.m. | PNC Arena, Raleigh, NC | TBS |
| 2 | Monday, April 22 | 7:30 p.m. | PNC Arena, Raleigh, NC | ESPN2 |
| 3 | Thursday, April 25 | 7:30 p.m. | UBS Arena, Elmont, NY | ESPN2 |
| 4 | Saturday, April 27 | 2 p.m. | UBS Arena, Elmont, NY | TBS |
| 5* | Tuesday, April 30 | TBD | PNC Arena, Raleigh, NC | TBD |
| 6* | Thursday, May 2 | TBD | UBS Arena, Elmont, NY | TBD |
| 7* | Saturday, May 4 | TBD | PNC Arena, Raleigh, NC | TBD |
*If necessary
Islanders vs. Hurricanes Tale of the Tape
| Islanders | Stat | Hurricanes |
| 39-27-16 (94 points) | Record (Points) | 52-23-7 (111 points) |
| 3rd in Metro | Finish | 2nd in Metro |
| 57.3% | Points% | 67.7% |
| 245 (21st) | Goals For | 277 (7th) |
| 258 (20th) | Goals Against | 211 (4th) |
| 20.35% (19th) | Power Play % | 26.91% (2nd) |
| 71.49% (32nd) | Penalty Kill % | 86.43% (1st) |
Why the Islanders can win
They’re hot at the right time: The Islanders have been forced to play postseason-like hockey since Patrick Roy arrived in late January, so they are no stranger to the desperation that comes this time of year. The problem was that they were incredibly inconsistent while Roy found his bearings in New York. They had a six-game win streak followed by a six-game losing streak to fall out of the playoff picture. Over the last two weeks, though, they have surged, winning nine of their last 10 regular-season games to clinch third place and doing so in almost every fashion imaginable.
A change in philosophy: Under Roy, this is no longer an Islanders team that will sit back and invite pressure with a timid, defensive style of play. New York is far more aggressive than it has been in the last decade with defensemen getting the green light to leave the net front and forwards given the creative freedom to attack with malice. The Islanders have the horses to find the back of the net. Bo Horvat, Brock Nelson, and Kyle Palmieri all reached the 30-goal mark. It’s the first time the team has had three 30-goal scorers in the same season since 1993-94 when Benoit Hogue, Pierre Turgeon, Derek King, and Steve Thomas hit the benchmark. Pulling all the strings is Mathew Barzal, who is coming off his best season (80 points in 80 games) since his rookie year.
Goaltending depth: Star goaltender Ilya Sorokin experienced his worst year since making the jump to the NHL but is coming along as of late. Across his final four starts of the regular season, he went 3-0-1 with a .932 save percentage. It remains to be seen if that will be enough to make the crease his this postseason. Semyon Varlamov was “in the zone,” as Roy described him, down the stretch. The 35-year-old veteran is 8-1-1 in his last 10 starts with a .930 save percentage. Against a high-powered Hurricanes side, New York simply has to go with the hottest hand.
Projected Islanders Lines
- Casey Cizikas – Bo Horvat – Mathew Barzal
- Simon Holmstrom – Brock Nelson – Kyle Palmieri
- Anders Lee – Jean-Gabriel Pageau – Pierre Engvall
- Matt Martin – Kyle MacLean – Cal Clutterbuck
- Adam Pelech – Ryan Pulock
- Alex Romanov – Noah Dobson (questionable)
- Mike Reilly – Sebastian Aho/Robert Bortuzzo
- Ilya Sorokin
- Semyon Varlamov
Why the Hurricanes can win
Offensive enhancements: Carolina’s offense was already an imposing enough unit but the additions of Jake Guentzel and Evgeny Kuznetsov at the trade deadline have taken things to a different level. In 17 games with the Hurricanes, Guentzel — the former Penguin — has recorded eight goals and 17 assists (25 points) alongside Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis.
Massive edge in special teams: This series could come down to special teams — it’s that simple. The Hurricanes hold massive advantages in both the power play and the penalty kill. If the Islanders have issues staying out of the penalty box, they will likely be doomed. Not only have they had a historically bad penalty kill this season, but the Hurricanes have the second-best power play in all of hockey.
Frederik Andersen: While the Islanders have a platoon, the Hurricanes have a red-hot Freddy Andersen between the pipes. In the 10 games he has played since returning from a blood-clot scare, he has been lights out with a .951 save percentage and three shutouts
Projected Hurricanes Lines
- Jake Guentzel — Sebastian Aho — Seth Jarvis
- Andrei Svechnikov — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Martin Necas
- Jordan Martinook — Jordan Staal — Stefan Noesen
- Jack Drury — Jesperi Kotkaniemi — Teuvo Teravainen
- Jaccob Slavin — Brent Burns
- Brady Skjei — Brett Pesce
- Dmitry Orlov — Jalen Chatfield
- Frederik Andersen
- Pyotr Kochetkov
For more on the Islanders, visit AMNY.com
Read more: Volpe Powers Yankees To 5th Straight Win Over D’Backs, 5-2
