New York Islanders vs. Carolina Hurricanes
Game 1 | Best of Seven Series 1-0 Car Lead
7:30pm | PNC Arena
Watch: MSGSN, MSG+, ESPN2, ESPN+
Listen: 88.7FM, 103.9FM, 10:50AM
The New York Islanders liked everything about it, but after losing Game 1 on Saturday, they will look to even the first-round series against the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 2 on Monday night at PNC Arena. It turns out.
“We did a lot of good things there. Obviously we didn't do enough, but we had our chances,” head coach Patrick Roy said Sunday. “Now we need to bounce back and come out tomorrow and play strong.”
Good stuff. The Islanders held the Hurricanes to one goal at 5-on-5 and held the shooting-heavy Canes to just 25 shots from Semyon Varlamov, compared to 46, 43 and 40 in the first three regular season games. It was much less than that. They got into the lane, blocked 21 shots, played well in transition and had quality chances in the third period with Noah Dobson and Kyle Palmieri each hitting the post. They persevered in a hostile atmosphere and shook off an early Hurricanes goal.
However, there is still room for improvement. Roy felt that while Carolina's pressure play was an issue, his team could have held the puck longer in the offensive zone. Matthew Barzal and Brock Nelson have talked about creating more offensive zone time, especially since Carolina has a harder time getting the puck into the zone.
“Speed, movement and support,” Nelson said. “We’re sticking to the puck, so we have to be smart with our puck placement.”
The Islanders' penalty kill went 3-for-2 in this game and got better as the game went on, but as Saturday's quick icebreaker proved, fewer penalties are better against Carolina. .
