2025-26 Regular Season, Game 76 Preview: Carolina Hurricanes vs. New York Islanders

Last Game: The Carolina Hurricanes clinched a berth in the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs on Thursday night, beating the Columbus Blue Jackets into submission for 60 minutes. They got rolling early, thanks to the Stankoven line. They needed 2:27 to get the first goal, with Logan Stankoven tipping a shot from K'Andre Miller to start it. Stankoven added another before the 9:00 mark, putting the puck home after hard work from Jackson Blake and Taylor Hall. Late in the period, with Columbus on the power play, they added one more. Alexander Nikishin sniped a shot over Elvis Merzlikins' glove to tie the team's rookie defenseman scoring record with his first short-handed goal. The Blue Jackets' lone tally came courtesy of Denton Mateychuk, but Jordan Martinook scored 13 seconds later with a pinball shot from the point to restore the three-goal lead. To top it off, Andrei Svechnikov scored on the power play, giving the Canes their eighth straight game with a goal on the man advantage. Jordan Staal recorded a point in his 1400th game. Sebastian Aho had two assists to reach 400 for his career. The Canes tied their fewest shots against in franchise history, giving up ten, including just two to Columbus' forwards. It all meant a 5-1 win for the Hurricanes to secure the first of eight spots for the Eastern Conference in the postseason.

Injury Report

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The Opponent: New York Islanders (42-30-5, 89 Points; 3rd in the Metropolitan Division)

Last Meeting: These two haven't played since the day before Halloween in Raleigh, giving us over five months between meetings. On that night, the Canes were in the driver's seat for most of it. Bradly Nadeau opened the scoring with his first NHL goal, snapping one past David Rittich after an Islander turnover. Just a few minutes later, Mike Reilly scored his first as a Hurricane, wrapping a rebound home against his former team. A little past the halfway point, Jordan Martinook popped a rebound home, giving the Canes a commanding 3-0 lead. Matthew Schaefer got one back on the power play late in the first, but the 3-1 score remained into the third period. Early in the final period, Jackson Blake snapped one past Rittich after a filthy move around Schaefer by Taylor Hall. Simon Holmstrom scored during a 4-on-4, but Andrei Svechnikov got it back 11 seconds later, pushing the lead back to three. Logan Stankoven added one more in the final seconds to complete a 6-2 win for the Hurricanes.

Since We Last Met: You might've heard of this kid named Matthew Schaefer. It turns out, he's pretty good at hockey. At just 18 years old, Schaefer is lighting up the NHL, tied for the rookie lead in goals (22) and tied for second in points (57). He's a lock to be a finalist for the Calder Trophy, and I'd have him as the winner if I had a vote. They might also have a Vezina finalist in Ilya Sorokin, but he wasn't able to get them a win on Friday night. The Islanders are third in the division, but they are just as close to being out of the playoffs as they are to being in them. Their "cushion" in third is only one point over Columbus and Philadelphia, whom they lost to last night at home. They aren't a very threatening team on offense, sitting 23rd in goals per game and 30th on the power play. Mathew Barzal, who didn't play in October because he missed a team meeting, has a team-high 50 assists and 69 points. Bo Horvat is up to 30 goals. Outside of Schaefer and a few other guys, there isn't a ton there. Defensively, it's a different story. Anchored by Sorokin, they're in the Top 5 in goals allowed per game and 10th on the penalty kill. The Canes had success against them offensively the first time around, but they'll need to be just as sharp this time, too.

Stories to Watch

1. Don't take your foot off the gas now

The Hurricanes are going to the playoffs, but that's not where their attention should be. Including tonight, they still have seven games to play, and a lot of irons still in the fire. There are personal benchmarks for the players and the team that are still attainable over the next few weeks. The Islanders had to travel to complete this back-to-back, and losing last night is going to be all of the fuel that they need to get back on track in Raleigh. Brandon Bussi and David Rittich are the projected starters for tonight's contest, which is the same matchup we saw in October. Bussi was solid that night, and the Canes got to Rittich early and often. A win tonight gets them one step closer to the division crown. Handle business to make it possible.