Sixteen shots was a new season low for the Islanders and tied for the second-fewest shots on goal in a game in the NHL this season.
While both teams started slow in the first, with neither team getting double-digit shots and Carolina outshooting the Islanders 9-7, the Islanders failed to generate much more from there.
HURRICANES 3, ISLANDERS 0
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The Islanders got off to a slow start in the second period despite drawing a penalty for an early power play. The Hurricanes outshot the Islanders 1-0 on that power play, and outshot the Islanders 7-3 on the period. Paul Stastny gave the Hurricanes the lead midway through the period, burying a rebound at the crease.
"The effort was there," Anders Lee said. "Guys were working, we just weren't able to break any of their pressure. A lot of times they were right up on us. We weren't able to get it past them enough to sustain the pressure and then they won the territorial battle tonight, but all the effort was there. It's just we weren't able to break it."
The Islanders finally earned their 10th shot of the game over 17 minutes into the period. After a six-goal outing on Friday and three 40-shot games before that, the Islanders had just 10 shots total in the first two periods on Saturday.
Their shooting woes continued in the third period. The Hurricanes outshot the Islanders 13-6 and scored two more goals, off a Jesperi Kotkaniemi deflection and a Jordan Staal rebound after a wraparound try.
"They were tight on us and close to us," Lambert said. "We didn't get to our game at all."