3 Keys: Hurricanes at Islanders, Game 3 of Eastern 1st Round

(1M) Hurricanes at (WC1) Islanders (WC1)
Eastern Conference First Round, Game 3
Carolina leads best-of-7 series 2-0
7 p.m. ET; TBS, SN1, TVAS2, MSGSN, BSSO

NEW YORK --Alexander Romanov will be a game-time decision for the New York Islanders in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference First Round against the Carolina Hurricanes at UBS Arena on Friday.
The defenseman has not played since sustaining an upper-body injury against the Tampa Bay Lightning on April 1, but was a full participant in New York's morning skate.
"He's been skating on his own and he's been in situations where he's been able to test his injury]*
New York could use a spark after losing the first two games of the best-of-7 series at PNC Arena. Playing a Stanley Cup Playoff game at UBS Arena for the first time could help.
Conversely, the Hurricanes want to bring the success they had at home to the road. Carolina was 0-6 away from home in the playoffs last season.
"Their fanbase at UBS is going to be, obviously, off the charts," Hurricanes defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere said Thursday. "They're going to be ready, for sure, to get their guys going, especially down 2-0. … They're down 2-0, so it's desperation hockey for them."
Teams that take a 3-0 lead in a best-of-7 series are 199-4 (98.0 percent) all time, including 3-0 last season.
Here are 3 keys to Game 3:

1. Match game

The Hurricanes matched their third line of Jordan Martinook, Jordan Staal and Jesper Fast against the Islanders' top line of Anders Lee, Bo Horvat and Mathew Barzal at even strength for most of the first two games. Although Barzal scored a goal in Game 2, his line was on the ice for Fast's overtime goal.
New York will have the last change on home ice, so it can get away from that matchup if it wants.
"It certainly is a challenge when you're on the road to keep them away, but at the same time, when you can, players just have to play," Lambert said Friday.

2. Next man up

Carolina's forward depth will be tested with Teuvo Teravainen (broken hand) joining Andrei Svechnikov (torn ACL) and Max Pacioretty (torn Achilles tendon) on the sideline after Teravainen was injured during the third period of Game 2. Jesse Puljujarvi likely will take Teravainen's spot in the lineup after being scratched for the first two games of the series.
Puljujarvi had two assists in 17 regular-season games with the Hurricanes after being acquired in a trade with the Edmonton Oilers on Feb. 28.
"Obviously when you lose your top guys, there's a lot of minutes there, so somebody has to fill it and it's probably not just one guy," Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour said Thursday. "But just in general, other people will get more opportunities."

3. Ilya Sorokin

The Islanders appeared to have an advantage heading into the series with Sorokin in net after his stellar regular season (31-22-7, 2.34 goals-against average, .924 save percentage, NHL-high six shutouts in 62 games). And though Sorokin has played well in the first two games of the series (.932 save percentage), that advantage hasn't materialized yet with Antti Raanta (2-0, 1.92 GAA, .923 save percentage) holding his own for Carolina.
Sorokin was victimized by an odd bounce on Stefan Noesen's power-play goal and a Jaccob Slavin shot banked in off his mask in allowing four goals on 36 shots in Game 2. Bad luck or not, he needs to be a difference maker for New York to climb back in the series.

Hurricanes projected lineup

Jack Drury -- Sebastian Aho -- Seth Jarvis
Stefan Noesen -- Jesperi Kotkaniemi -- Martin Necas
Jordan Martinook -- Jordan Staal -- Jesper Fast
Derek Stepan -- Paul Stastny -- Jesse Puljujarvi
Jaccob Slavin -- Brent Burns
Brady Skjei -- Brett Pesce
Shayne Gostisbehere -- Jalen Chatfield
Antti Raanta
Pyotr Kochetkov
Scratched:Frederik Andersen, Max Lajoie, Ville Koivunen, Vasiliy Ponomarev, Jamieson Rees, Ryan Suzuki, Zach Sawchenko
Injured:Ondrej Kase (concussion), Max Pacioretty (torn Achilles), Teuvo Teravainen (broken hand)

Islanders projected lineup

Anders Lee -- Bo Horvat -- Mathew Barzal
Pierre Engvall -- Brock Nelson -- Kyle Palmieri
Zach Parise -- Jean-Gabriel Pageau -- Hudson Fasching
Matt Martin -- Casey Cizikas -- Cal Clutterbuck
Adam Pelech -- Scott Mayfield
Alexander Romanov -- Ryan Pulock
Sebastian Aho
-- Noah Dobson
Ilya Sorokin
Semyon Varlamov
Scratched:Josh Bailey, Samuel Bolduc, Simon Holmstrom, Ross Johnston, Parker Wotherspoon
Injured:Oliver Wahlstrom (lower body)

Status report

The Hurricanes did not hold a morning skate. ... Carolina recalled Lajoie, a defensemen; forwards Koivunen, Ponomarev, Rees, and Suzuki; and Sawchenko, a goalie, from Chicago of the American Hockey League on Thursday. … The Islanders held an optional morning skate.
NHL.com independent correspondent Denis Gorman contributed to this report