(2M) Hurricanes at (3M) Islanders
Eastern Conference First Round, Game 4
2 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, MSGSN, TBS, BSSO, SN, TVAS
Carolina leads best-of-7 series 3-0
ELMONT, N.Y. -- There is no big picture for the New York Islanders in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference First Round against the Carolina Hurricanes at UBS Arena on Saturday.
It’s win or go home, out of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in the first round for the second straight season -- again at the hands of the Carolina Hurricanes, who won the opening round in six games in 2023.
“We have to start by getting this win and go from there,” Islanders center Bo Horvat said.
But how? They’ve lost three straight games, including blowing a three-goal lead in a 5-3 loss in Game 2. They switched goalies in Game 3, going to Ilya Sorokin from Semyon Varlamov. But Sorokin lasted 27:14 on Thursday, pulled after allowing three goals -- each from distance -- on 14 shots in a 3-2 loss.
Four teams in NHL history have come back from a 3-0 series deficit to win a best-of-7 playoff series; no team has done it since the Los Angeles Kings against the San Jose Sharks in the first round in 2014.
Each game in this series, for all intent and purposes, has been a one-goal affair. The Hurricanes scored empty-net goals in Games 1 and 2.
“[We can] use that emotion as motivation and perseverance through the first three games and, at the same time, what’s done is done,” New York captain Anders Lee said. “We have an opportunity to come back tomorrow in our building to have a good game, to win a game and take it from there.
“We can’t control what happened. We know the results and the why and how and all that stuff, but there’s no doubt that we’ll have to rise to the occasion tomorrow and do whatever it takes to win a hockey game.”
Varlamov will be in goal for Game 4. He stopped each of the eight shots he faced in relief of Sorokin in Game 3 and has allowed six goals on 71 shots (.915 save percentage) in the series.
The Islanders will face goalie Frederik Andersen, who has allowed six goals on 77 shots (.922 save percentage) in the three games.
Andersen, who was out four months with blood-clotting issues, has not played four consecutive games all season. He did not appear in consecutive games from March 10 through the end of the regular season, and had not played in three straight games since the 2023 playoffs.
Here are 3 keys for Game 4:
1. Mind control
The Islanders know they have to win Saturday, but don’t expect them to throw caution to the wind to do it.
New York coach Patrick Roy believes his team will play to its identity, but even more resolutely.
“It’s part of our mindset,” Roy said. “With the mindset that we have put together, we want to be calm, we want to make sure that we’re positive. We want to make sure that we play with an energy. We want to make sure we play together. We want to make sure we play fast.
“We know what brings success to us. I’m not saying it guarantees you a win, but we know we are going to have a good game.”
2. Fast start
The Hurricanes don’t want to give the Islanders -- or their fans -- any hope. They want to set the tone early, send a message that the hill to climb is too big and too dangerous.
The problem is, Carolina hasn’t really played its A-game in the first period yet in this series; the Hurricanes scored two goals in the first period of Game 3, But the Islanders carried the play for much of the period. In Game 2, Carolina came back to win after trailing 3-0.
“If you can do that, great,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “But it’s not that easy.”
3. The eyes have it
New York has seen Andersen across 12 periods in this series and has been frustrated numerous times. Among a catalog of incredible saves was a game-changing stop from the seat of his pants on defenseman Noah Dobson in Game 2 and a wild glove save against defenseman Alexander Romanov in the third period of Game 3.
Yet, the Islanders still believe they can solve the Great Dane.
“He’s such a big and positionally sound goaltender,” Horvat said. “If we can get him moving a little bit side to side or get a little more traffic in front of him, so he can’t see as much, that’s definitely going to help us out.
Hurricanes projected lineup
Jake Guentzel -- Sebastian Aho -- Andrei Svechnikov
Teuvo Teravainen -- Jesperi Kotkaniemi -- Martin Necas
Jordan Martinook -- Jordan Staal -- Seth Jarvis
Jack Drury -- Evgeny Kuznetsov -- Stefan Noesen
Jaccob Slavin -- Brent Burns
Brady Skjei -- Tony DeAngelo
Dmitry Orlov -- Jalen Chatfield
Frederik Andersen
Pyotr Kochetkov
Scratched: Jackson Blake, Brendan Lemieux, Scott Morrow, Bradly Nadeau, Ryan Suzuki
Injured: Jesper Fast (upper body), Brett Pesce (lower body)
Islanders projected lineup
Casey Cizikas -- Bo Horvat -- Mathew Barzal
Hudson Fasching -- Brock Nelson -- Kyle Palmieri
Anders Lee -- Jean-Gabriel Pageau -- Pierre Engvall
Ruslan Iskhakov -- Kyle MacLean -- Cal Clutterbuck
Alexander Romanov -- Noah Dobson
Adam Pelech -- Ryan Pulock
Mike Reilly -- Robert Bortuzzo
Semyon Varlamov
Ilya Sorokin
Scratched: Simon Holmstrom, Sebastian Aho, Samuel Bolduc, Oliver Wahlstrom
Injured: Matt Martin (lower body)
Status report
Fast, a forward, is expected to miss the remainder of the postseason. ... Suzuki, a forward, was recalled from Springfield of the American Hockey League on Friday. ... Martin, a forward, will not play and will be replaced in the lineup by Iskhakov, who will make his Stanley Cup Playoffs debut after being recalled from Bridgeport of the AHL on Wednesday.
NHL.com independent correspondent Stefen Rosner contributed to this report
