Game Preview: Islanders at Hurricanes

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (15-8-9) AT CAROLINA HURRICANES (17-12-4)

7:30 PM ET | PNC ARENA

WATCH: MSGSN2 | ESPN+

LISTEN: 88.7FM | 103.9FM | 1050 AM

The New York Islanders conclude their brief two-game road trip with a matchup against the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday, in their final game before the league-wide holiday break. 

The Islanders fell 3-2 in overtime to the Washington Capitals on Wednesday night at Capital One Arena. Dylan Strome netted the game-winner 1:41 into the extra frame, but the Islanders showed grit in the third period to force overtime. Down 2-1 with 7:58 left in regulation, Anders Lee found the back of the net to tie the game at two apiece, which allowed the Islanders to pick up a point. 

“I thought we did a wonderful job of sticking with it and grinding it out,” Lee said on Wednesday night. “We got the game to overtime and gave ourselves a chance to win, but [the Capitals] played a solid game.”

The Hurricanes were edged 2-1 in a shootout by the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night. Teuvo Teravainen scored for Carolina, but Sidney Crosby’s regulation tally and shootout goal won the game for Pittsburgh. Pyotr Kochetkov turned aside 24 of 25 shots in a game that gave the Hurricanes a point and extended their point streak to six (3-0-3). 

The Islanders are 1-0-1 against the Hurricanes this season, most recently winning a 5-4 overtime contest on Nov. 30 in Raleigh. After Saturday’s tilt, the season series will conclude on March 19 at UBS Arena.

ISLANDERS NOTES

- The Islanders have gone beyond regulation in 13 of 32 contests this season, winning four and losing nine of those games.

“At the beginning of the year, we could have done a lot better job of closing out games and not let it get to overtime,” Bo Horvat said on Friday. “But a lot of these recent games, we fought our way back to get to overtime to get at least a point out of it. It says a lot about our group. But of course, we would’ve liked to have a few more wins in those games.”

- Julien Gauthier joined the team for practice on Friday in North Carolina. The winger missed Wednesday’s contest with an upper-body injury.

- Horvat’s career-best 11 game point streak (8G, 9A) came to an end on Wednesday. The center is second on the team in goals (13) and third in points overall (31).

- Noah Dobson’s +19 rating ranks fifth in the NHL, while his 25:42 TOI/GP ranks third in the league. The defenseman leads the Islanders with 28 assists is tied for the team lead in points (33). His point total through 32 games this season is 16 shy of last season’s total of 49 points through 78 games.

- Anders Lee scored four goals in his last seven games, including an active two-game goal streak. His next tally will mark his 250th career goal.

- The Islanders continue their five-game stretch of games against divisional opponents with Saturday’s contest against the Hurricanes. This season, the Islanders are 5-2-4 against Metropolitan Division matchups.

“Every game is important,” Head Coach Lane Lambert said on Friday. It’ll be that way until the bitter end probably, there’s so much parity. Everyone is so close, you can talk about tomorrow’s game [against the Hurricanes], the 27th [against the Penguins] or the 29th [against the Capitals], the list goes on and on with how important these games are.”

HURRICANES NOTES

- The Hurricanes rank fifth in the Metro with a record of 17-12-4. Their 38 points are one short of tying the Islanders (39 points), who have one game in-hand.

- Carolina’s penalty kill went 5-for-5 in Thursday’s 2-1 SO loss to the Penguins, including an important kill to shut down Pittsburgh’s power play in overtime. During the month of December, the Hurricanes’ penalty kill went 33-for-34 (97.0%) and is 82.2 overall this season (10th in the NHL).

- Pyotr Kochetkov made 24 saves on Thursday through 65 minutes for the Hurricanes. The 24-year-old netminder has a 7-6-3 record this season along with a 2.53 GAA and a .899 SV%. Kochetkov was between the pipes when the Canes last faced the Islanders, where he made 11 saves in the 5-4 loss on Nov. 30.

- After clearing waivers on Sunday, Antti Raanta was assigned to the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League by the Hurricanes. The 34-year-old netminder went 6-5-1 with a 3.61 GAA and .854 SV% this season through 14 games and 12 starts. The Canes recalled goaltender Yaniv Perets from the Norfolk Admirals of the ECHL, who has yet to make his NHL debut. Since Nov. 2, the Hurricanes have been without Frederik Andersen, who is out indefinitely with a blood clot issue.

- Teuvo Teravainen scored on Thursday for the Hurricanes, which ended a nine-game goal drought for the 29-year-old. He is tied for the team lead with 12 goals.

- Sebastian Aho is averaging a point-per-game for the Hurricanes, with a team-leading 30 points (12G, 18A) through 30 games of his eighth season with Carolina. He is two points shy of his milestone 500th career point. The 26-year-old forward has 17 points (7G, 10A) through 24 career games against the Islanders.