Playoff Notebook: Another Chance To Close Out Round 1

RALEIGH, NC. - It's the same two teams, in the same playoff round, in the same situation.

For a second straight year, the Carolina Hurricanes are up 3-1 on the New York Islanders with the ability to put them away on home ice in Game 5.

Last postseason the Islanders forced another trip back to Long Island, prolonging their season's end by two more days.  This time around, the Canes are hoping the final nail in the coffin comes without another trip to the airport.

And they don't want to hear the comparisons to 2023 either.

"We're not thinking about last year at all.  Every game you play in the playoffs you want to win.  Tomorrow night we're going into the game putting our best foot forward and bringing everything we've got to win that game," Jordan Martinook responded following Monday's practice.  "Our sole mindset is to come out winning that game."

Although they've earned three wins already, the group feels as though they haven't really played to their standard in any of the first four games in the series.

Tomorrow night would be a good time for them to put together their best effort yet.

"It's a big opportunity.  We want to play a good hockey game.  We don't think anything but winning one hockey game," Sebastian Aho said with an evident focus.  "It starts with a good start.  [We just need to] come in and have that killer instinct."

Desire To Be Better In The Dot...

One area in which the Canes hope to be better at on Tuesday than they were in Game 4 is on draws.

Uncharacteristically winning just 32.4% of faceoffs on Saturday, it was a particularly tough day for Aho (3/18) and Evgeny Kuznetsov (1/8).

It was the worst game of the campaign in that department as a whole for the Canes, regular season or postseason.

"A couple of guys struggled, but they're taking a lot of faceoffs, and that makes the whole number worse," Rod Brind'Amour said, seemingly not concerned about a repeat performance. "That was a big component. I thought we got better as the game went on, but certainly early that was a big factor."

J.G. Pageau did a bulk of the damage for the Islanders, going an impressive 19-for-23.  But tomorrow, Patrick Roy and the Islanders won't have the luxury of picking their matchups.

"Throughout the lineup at center, we've got to be better," Jordan Staal shared post-game on Saturday, describing the "frustrating" game. "Even if we had won a part of (the ones we lost), we'd have a better chance of winning that game. It wasn't great."

The Captain said the team would review the game film and come with a better effort tomorrow.

"Sometimes it's almost like you try too hard.  You've got to get in the circle and be confident," Aho offered following today's practice.  "All the centers have done it enough times.  Sometimes it goes like that.  We've got to be better in that department."

Andersen Again?

Entering the postseason one of the biggest questions surrounding the team was if they'd continue the goaltending rotation that they'd utilized for the final 20 games of the regular season.

Although Brind'Amour said he'd considered it, it's turned out to be a one-man show.

Frederik Andersen has been more than adequate through the first four games, allowing just nine goals and producing a .920 save percentage. Of the 16 goalies who have played at least two postseason games, only Jeremy Swayman (.956), Igor Shesterkin (.931), Semyon Varlamov (.930), and Logan Thompson (.927) have produced better.

"When he's on, he's probably one of the best in the league," Martinook remarked of Andersen.  "For us to have him playing the way he is right now is a huge asset to us.  We're lucky to have him and we need him to keep doing what he's doing."

Quality of performance has never been the question with Andersen though. It has always been health.

Brind'Amour said on Sunday that he expected the 34-year-old to be available again on Tuesday, given the day off and light workload at skate between games.

While the head coach always cautions reading into practice, Andersen was in the same net on Monday as he had been every other practice day this series. Still, Brind'Amour said he would be completely comfortable going back to Pyotr Kochetkov, even though he has not played in 15 days.

"Both guys have shown real resilience in not playing forever, jumping right in, and then doing well," the head coach answered.  "That's really not a concern."

The Canes are not holding a morning skate on Tuesday, so the next available information regarding the Game 5 lineup will come around 5 p.m. when players and staff meet with the media pre-game.

Whoever starts in net for Carolina will be opposite Varlamov, who was announced as the starter for the Islanders on Monday.

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