2023-24 Regular Season, Game 22: Hurricanes vs. New York Islanders (Pregame)

The Carolina Hurricanes took a trip to Philadelphia after closing out their five-game homestand with an exciting comeback victory. Revenge was on their minds after Philadelphia handed them a loss to begin that homestand. Andrei Svechnikov would be unavailable for the game, bringing Brendan Lemieux back into the lineup. This meant Michael Bunting shot up to the top line. Naturally, he'd open the scoring. Sebastian Aho's pass found him at the top of the crease, and Bunting was able to put home the rebound. Philadelphia controlled large portions of the first and second periods. Pyotr Kochetkov was doing a solid job of keeping the Flyers off the board. He wasn't perfect, though. Travis Konecny was sprung on a breakaway, and he buried it past Kochetkov to get the Flyers even. After Konecny's goal, the Canes dominated. Lemieux was able to force a turnover in front of the Flyers' goal and then put home a rebound to put the Canes back ahead. Both goalies did a good job of keeping their teams in the game. They got a little help from the iron, too. The Canes eventually found a backbreaker, and it was a soft one. Seth Jarvis' shot was low and very stoppable. Instead, Hart kicked the puck behind him to give the Canes a 3-1 lead. Jesperi Kotkaniemi found the empty net 42 seconds later to put the Flyers away, earning a huge divisional win on the road for the Canes. 

The Opponent: New York Islanders (8-7-6, 22 Points- 5th in the Metropolitan Division)

Last Meeting- The Canes were on Long Island at the beginning of November, and New York dominated the early portion of the contest. Noah Dobson got the Islanders on the board first late in the opening period, beating Antti Raanta with a strong backhand. They would add to their lead with a short-handed 2-on-0 finished by Simon Holmstrom and a Mathew Barzal snipe in the first 7:46 of the period to lead 3-0. Then, it's as if the Hurricanes flipped a switch and became a new team. Jalen Chatfield responded 32 seconds later to get the Canes on the board, giving Carolina some life going into the third period. A friendly bounce off a defender would earn Dmitry Orlov his first goal as a Hurricane, bringing them within a goal. The power play would find the tying goal as Andrei Svechnikov made a great pass from below the goal line to find Jesperi Kotkaniemi, who elevated and tied it with 4:34 left. With the game going to overtime, the Canes reached down for a little more magic. After Raanta made a huge stop on Dobson's blast, they took it the other way. Martin Necas dropped a pass for Sebastian Aho, and he beat Ilya Sorokin through the five-hole to complete the comeback, earning a 4-3 win on Long Island. 

Since We Last Met- New York's loss to the Canes kickstarted a seven-game losing streak in which they went 0-4-3. They've had a tough time holding leads, especially during that losing streak. The Islanders did break their streak by winning three straight, scoring 13 goals in three games. They've lost their last two coming into this game. Ilya Sorokin put in a strong game against the Flyers, going save for save with Samuel Ersson through three periods and overtime in a 0-0 deadlock. Unfortunately, he allowed a goal in the shootout, handing the Islanders a 1-0 loss despite Sorokin getting a shutout. Then, they blew a 4-2 lead in the third period to the Devils in a 5-4 loss. Sorokin has only won two of his last seven starts, allowing over three goals per game. Mathew Barzal is playing at a point-per-game pace right now, with Noah Dobson, Brock Nelson, and Bo Horvat following closely behind. Despite these strong performances, many of the role players aren't producing at a level that could help the team. They're the fourth-worst offense in the league, and their goaltending hasn't been able to steal games for them. Add injuries to Sebastian Aho and Adam Pelech, and the Islanders could find themselves in a tough spot. 

Stories of the Night

1. Svechnikov's Status

After missing the Philadelphia game due to illness, Andrei Svechnikov's status has to be one of the biggest question marks handing over this game. It's a shame after the game he had against Columbus, scoring his first goal of the season. The Canes were able to take down the Flyers without him in the lineup, but it's not something we want to see regularly. Obviously, the health of a player is going to be far more important than them being on the ice. Hopefully, the flu-like symptoms he had have lessened, and he'll be good to go. 

2. Stringing Wins Together 

Despite having a good record, the Hurricanes have yet to string many wins together. Their longest winning streak of the season is three games, coming in late October in wins over Seattle, San Jose, and Philadelphia. Tonight, they'll have a chance to match it with a win over the Islanders. At this time last season, the Canes were beginning a long point streak. Could we see something similar this season? It's time for the Hurricanes to start clicking on all cylinders and play consistently. 

3. Containing Mathew Barzal

In the first meeting this season, Mathew Barzal was all over the place. He scored a goal, added an assist, and tied for the team lead in shots in over 21 minutes of ice time. He would skate around the offensive zone with the puck, trying to find an open man. That's what led to his assist on Noah Dobson's goal. As the Islanders' leading scorer, Barzal is coming off a three-point game against the Devils, so he's clearly feeling it. With this game being played at PNC Arena, the Canes will control who he's matched up against. If the Canes can take Barzal and his line out of the game, it'll make the night a little easier.