3 Takeaways: Isles Good Effort Falls Short in Game 1 Loss to Hurricanes

There was a lot to like about what the New York Islanders did in Game 1 against the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday evening – just not the result.

The Islanders fell 3-1 – and trail their best-of-seven series 1-0 as a result – but Saturday’s icebreaker was a tightly-checked contest that saw the teams tied 1-1 in the third and one that New York had ample chance to win.

“I’m encouraged because I thought we played a really solid game,” Head Coach Patrick Roy said. “It was a hard-fought game, but we had our chances. And I'm frustrated because we had our chances.”

Kyle MacLean scored the lone goal for the Islanders to tie the score 1-1 in the first period and Stefan Noesen (GWG) broke the deadlock at 3:44 mark of the third. Evgeny Kuznetsov (PPG, 1A) and Martin Necas (ENG) rounded out the scoring for the Hurricanes.

Semyon Varlamov stopped 23-of-25 shots in the loss, while Frederik Andersen stopped 33-of-34 in the win, on a night where the Islanders outshot the Hurricanes 34-26.

ISLES CAN'T CLOSE OUT CHANCES IN TIGHT CONTEST:

Saturday’s opener was a missed opportunity for the Islanders, who played the Hurricanes a lot closer than the prognosticators, or gulf in the stands may have indicated ahead of the series. The Isles outshot the Canes 34-26 for the game, including 13-6 in the second period.

High-danger chances were nearly even at five-on-five, with Carolina edging New York 8-7. At five-on-five, each team scored once, with the Hurricanes utilizing their second-ranked power play to open the scoring at 1:35 of the first period before MacLean answered by jamming in his first-career playoff goal at the 8:20 mark.

The Islanders certainly had their chances on Saturday. Mathew Barzal was denied in the slot after a Sebastian Aho turnover. Brock Nelson and Kyle Palmieri – two of the hottest Isles down the stretch – couldn’t convert a two-on-one rush in the same period.

If there was a sliding doors moment, it came in the opening minute of the third period, when Noah Dobson first hit the post with a wrister from the slot and followed up on his own rebound, but a seated Andersen made a desperation save to keep the score tied 1-1.

“We definitely had a couple good looks, especially in the third,” Dobson said, acknowledging that Andersen made a heck of a save on his chance. “It's going to be tight out there all series. We just have to find a way to bear down on those good looks.”

From there, it was all Canes, who put plenty of pressure on the Isles until Noesen knocked home the eventual winner, as a deflected point shot hit off Ryan Pulock and dropped in front to the Hurricanes forward. Noesen also factored in on Carolina’s first goal providing the rolling screen for Evgeny Kuznetsov’s power-play tally.

The Isles came agonizingly close to tyin the score on a power play just over the midway point in the period, when Kyle Palmieri’s front-side wraparound got past a downed Andersen, but hit the outside of the post. That was the kind of night it was for the Islanders, who certainly had their looks.

“We played a simple hockey game and created some pretty good pretty good looks because of that,” Lee said. “Guys were smart with the puck all night, head up and making plays. We just didn't bury them.”

ISLES GET IN LANES:

The Hurricanes lived up to their reputation as volume-shooting team, but the Islanders did their best to get in lanes and keep pucks away from their net.

Only 26 of the Hurricanes 74 shot attempts found their way to the net – and only 25 to Varlamov – which was a vast improvement over the four regular season matchups that saw Carolina put up 46, 43, 40 and 34 shots respectively.

“They sling it, but usually there's a D man or someone on the weak side to pick up rebounds,” Palmieri said. “The more we can make those shots and those puck placements harder on them, the better off we'll be trying to get pucks back and break out of our zone.”

As a team the Islanders blocked 21 shots on Saturday night, with Robert Bortuzzo, Kyle MacLean, Kyle Palmieri and Ryan Pulock blocking three apiece. Twenty-five Hurricanes shots also missed – including a Brady Skjei shot off the post in the second, but that was the type of sacrifice Roy was looking for out of his team.

“This is the team that takes, what, the most shots in the league?” Roy said. “We kept them under 25 or something like this with the empty-netter, so I think our guys deserve a lot of credit for what they did.”

LINEUP NOTES:

Noah Dobson was in the lineup for Game 1, returning after missing the final three games of the regular season with a lower-body injury. Sebastian Aho came out of the lineup to accommodate Dobson’s return.

Dobson played a team-high 21:23, with one shot on goal and four total attempt, a takeaway and a blocked shot.  

“It felt good to get back,” Dobson said. “I just tried to keep it simple, especially early on to get back in the game, but I’m sure I will definitely probably feel even better next game too.”

JG Pageau did not play in Game 1, as the forward remains day to day with a lower-body injury.

NEXT GAME:

Game 2 goes on Monday night at 7:30 p.m. at PNC Arena.