Round 1 Preview: Canes vs. Islanders

RALEIGH, NC. - The Carolina Hurricanes' road to a Stanley Cup begins with a first round meeting against the New York Islanders.

It will be the third time in the last six seasons that these two organizations will meet, and the second consecutive postseason that it happens in the very first round.

The two teams played four times during the regular season with the two teams splitting the outcomes, each winning the games in the opposing team's building.

Martin Necas led the Canes with five points in those four games, including a multi-point performance on December 23.

For New York, Mat Barzal had a whopping eight points in four games, featuring a four-point night and the overtime winner in Raleigh on November 30.

Click here to view the full Round 1 Schedule.

Revisiting The Regular Season Meetings...

• November 4: The Canes trailed 3-0 in the second period, but came back to stun the Islanders and take a 4-3 overtime win on Long Island.
• November 30: Carolina outshot New York 43-16, but lost in overtime, 5-4.
• December 23: The Canes "were not sharp defensively" in a 5-4 loss to the Islanders at PNC Arena in their final game before the holiday break.
• March 19: Carolina scored three times in the first period, taking control early in a 4-1 victory at UBS Arena.

Be Ready To Go On Time...

One thing the Islanders have done well all season is starting games on time.

Their +23 goal differential in first periods this season ranks third among all NHL teams, trailing only Vancouver (+38) and Boston (+30).

Carolina has been on the plus side of things (+5), but their bread and butter has been second periods.

The Canes' +37 goal-differential during the middle 20 minutes of games ranks 11 goals better than the next closest team, Dallas (+26).

New York, on the other hand, is fourth-worst in the NHL with a -24 during second periods.

Special Teams...

It is as cliche as can be this time of year, but special teams have the potential to be the difference in this series.

Carolina was outstanding on both sides of it this year, finishing with the league's best penalty kill (86.4%) and the second-best power play (26.9).

During the regular season, their PK went 8-for-9 against the Islanders, while the power play went a nice 4-for-11.

On the other side of the coin, special teams were not a strong suit for the Islanders this season.

Their power play finished the regular season ranked 19th (20.4%), and their penalty kill ranked dead last (71.5%).

In Net...

Carolina: Frederik Andersen, Pyotr Kochetkov, and Spencer Martin

Aside from the team's essentially meaningless regular season finale in Columbus on Tuesday, the team rotated between Andersen and Kochetkov for the final 20 games of the regular season.

Andersen has been the best goaltender in the NHL since coming back from a blood clotting issue that held him out of action for four months, going 9-1 with a .951 save percentage (SV%) and three shutouts.

Since March 7, no goaltender league-wide has a SV% that's even close (min. 10 GP), but the next closest is Semyon Varlamov of the Islanders (.931).

As for Kochetkov, a career-high 42 games played came with a boatload of success in them as well.

Of the 33 NHL goalies that played at least 40 games this year, he ranks tied for 10th with his .911 SV%. A winner of his last four starts, he is 3-1-1 in his career against the Isles.

Would the Canes consider keeping the rotation going in the postseason?

"I think everything is on the table," Rod Brind'Amour said after Thursday's practice. "Health is going to be a big question, staying fresh and all of that. It's nice to know that we have two guys that are playing at that level."

New York: Ilya Sorokin and Semyon Varlamov

Only five goalies league-wide had more minutes played than Sorokin (3325:59) this season.

Going 25-19-12, he battled back nicely after losing six consecutive starts in March, going 3-0-1 in April.

However, that run opened the door for more Varlamov, who has gone 8-1-1 with a .930 SV%. Winning five in a row to end his regular season, it is entirely possible that the Canes see both goaltenders at some point over the course of the series.

Players To Watch...

Carolina: Jake Guentzel

Just because a team makes an acquisition at the trade deadline, doesn't mean it's always going to work out.

However, in the case of Guentzel, it's hard to imagine it working out any better.

In 17 games with the Canes he's produced 25 points, leading the team.

A seamless fit alongside Aho and Seth Jarvis, Guentzel ranks inside the top ten in league scoring since making his debut with his new team on March 12.

Including an eight-game point streak going into the postseason, many are eager to see if his production will continue rolling right along.

New York: Kyle Palmieri

At 33 years young, Palmieri has not only been an important veteran leader for the team this season, he's coming into the playoffs with a scoring touch as well.

With 13 points in his last 13 regular season games, the right-handed forward has had one of the best seasons of his career. Totaling 54 points, he was one of just 46 players in the league to reach the 30-goal club.

An effective piece on the power play, he is one of just three Islanders who had 20 points on the man advantage this season.

How They See It...

Jordan Staal touching on the belief of the locker room as they embark on this journey...

"We've got a team that believes we can win it all. It's going to be a dogfight and it's not going to be easy. There's going to be ups and downs, and hard games. It's just a matter of pushing through and finding a way."

Jordan Martinook on the Islanders...

"They're a veteran team that plays really well within their structure. They're really not going to make mistakes, you're going to have to kind of push them into deep water. We know we can wear teams down with the way we play and that's what we're going to have to do. Shift after shift, night after night, just try and take momentum. We're going to have to use our game plan in the way that we've had success over the years here to take it to them."

Rod Brind'Amour when asked about preparing for seeing the same team potentially seven games in a row...

"You prepare for your opponent, obviously trying to pick up on tendencies on things like that. You make adjustments as you go because everybody knows 'Okay, they're doing this.' You have to have kind of a light in the back of your mind as you go along, but the longer you do this, the more I realized you really just have got to get your team ready to play your game. If you're worrying too much about all the stuff that might happen, you lose sight of what you've got to do."

Where To Watch Every Game...

Can't make it to PNC Arena, or looking for a place to watch the road games in the series?

Visit any Carolina Ale House in the state to watch the Canes all throughout the playoffs.

Bally Sports South will also broadcast every game during the series*.

(There is potential that if the series goes to seven games the seventh and final game would be a national exclusive broadcast.)

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