Game 2 Preview: Islanders at Hurricanes

NEW YORK ISLANDERS AT CAROLINA HURRICANES

GAME 2 | CAR LEADS BEST OF SEVEN SERIES 1-0

7:30 PM | PNC ARENA

WATCH: MSGSN, MSG+, ESPN2, ESPN+

LISTEN: 88.7FM, 103.9FM, 1050AM

The New York Islanders liked everything, but the result in Saturday’s Game 1 loss, and they’ll look to even their First Round series against the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 2 on Monday night at PNC Arena.

“We did a lot of good things out there, obviously it was not enough but we had our chances,” Head Coach Patrick Roy said on Sunday. “We need to be resilient right now and go out there tomorrow and play another strong game.”

The good. The Islanders held the Hurricanes to one goal at five-on-five and held the shot-happy Canes to just 25 shots on Semyon Varlamov, considerably fewer than the 46, 43 and 40 of the first three regular season meetings. They got in lanes, blocking 21 shots, they transitioned well and had quality chances, with Noah Dobson and Kyle Palmieri each hitting a post in the third period. They were resilient, shaking off an early Hurricanes goal in a hostile atmosphere.

That said, there’s still room for improvement. Roy felt like his team could have hung onto the puck longer in the offensive zone, though Carolina’s pressure play presents a challenge. Mathew Barzal and Brock Nelson both talked generating some more offensive zone time, especially with Carolina making carrying the puck into the zone difficult.

“Speed, motion and support,” Nelson said. “Hanging on to pucks and we have to be smart with puck placement.”

The Islanders’ penalty kill went 2-for-3 in the game, getting better as the game wore on, but the fewer penalties taken against Carolina the better, as evidenced by the quick icebreaker on Saturday.

PAGEAU A GAME-TIME DECISION:

Jean-Gabriel Pageau will be a game-time decision for Game 2, per Islanders Head Coach Patrick Roy.

Pageau missed Game 1 with a lower-body injury, but participated in the team's morning skate at PNC Arena. If Pageau is ready to go, he'll skate on a line with Anders Lee and Pierre Engvall, which would bump Kyle MacLean back into his usual position between Matt Martin and Cal Clutterbuck.

Hudson Fasching is expected to come out of the lineup if Pageau returns, with Simon Holmstrom moving to the wing with Brock Nelson and Kyle Palmieri.

Head Coach Patrick Roy spoke about what a potential Pageau return would give the Islanders.

"It's more than just having a righty center," Roy said. "He's a guy that kills penalties, he's a guy that plays on the power play and has a really solid 200-foot game and can play against top lines."

Pageau recorded 33 points (11G, 22A) in 82 games and was second on the Islanders with 196 hits. Pageau's 55.4 FOW% led the team.

MORE TRAFFIC IN FRONT OF ANDERSEN:

The Islanders peppered Frederik Andersen with 34 shots in Saturday’s series opener and while the Hurricanes netminder made a host of big saves – notably a desperation save on Dobson in the third period while he was seated – the Isles feel they can do a better job generating traffic and getting to the front of the net.

“He's obviously a big guy and he covers a lot of net,” Barzal said. “I had a good look there in front last night and I didn't see a ton of net. Just getting to the net, getting to the paint like we scored that first goal, getting traffic and making it tough on him to see the puck.”

CIZIKAS-HORVAT-BARZAL RACK UP SHOT ATTEMPTS:

While the line of Casey Cizikas, Bo Horvat and Mathew Barzal did not find the back of the net, the trio put plenty of pucks towards the net.

The line combined for 15 shot attempts, with Horvat and Barzal each recording five shots on goal and one attempt blocked. Casey Cizikas also chipped in two shots on goal and a blocked attempt.

HURRICANES NOTES:

Andrei Svechnikov missed last year’s Isles-Canes series, but was an active participant in Game 1. The Russian forward racked up 13 shot attempts – six on goal, two blocked and five missed – to go along with three hits, a giveaway, takeaway and a shot. He led Carolina in both shots and shot attempts.

While the Hurricanes aren’t the most physical team in the league, captain Jordan Staal gave his team some edge, recording a game-high seven hits, to go along with a game-high 11 faceoff wins.

Hurricanes leading scorer Sebastian Aho managed just one shot on goal (four total attempts) in Saturday’s game, but had a game-high four giveaways.

Stefen Noesen’s game-winner was his fifth point (3G, 2A) in seven career playoff games against the Islanders.

Jesper Fast did not participate in Sunday’s practice as he’s still out with an upper-body injury.

WATCH PARTY AT OFFSIDE

Cheer on your New York Islanders during Game 2 at Offside! Enjoy special giveaways and complimentary Heineken Silver for the first 25 fans, sponsored by Heineken.