NY Islanders playoff hopes take another hit after 4-3 loss in Carolina

The New York Islanders’ playoff hopes were dealt another blow Saturday night, as an underwhelming effort resulted in a 4-3 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes, extending their losing streak to four games for the first time this season.

In a stretch where every point matters, the Islanders once again came up short.

“You can’t drop games like this,” Scott Mayfield said. “We haven’t lost four in a row all season and it’s not a good week to do that.”

The Isles were not without opportunity, grabbing two separate one-goal leads. Marc Gatcomb opened the scoring in the first period, and Max Shabanov — playing just his third game since returning from injury — restored the lead in the second. But each time, Carolina answered.

The turning point came late in the second period.

With the Islanders holding a 2-1 lead despite being badly outshot, a breakdown allowed Sebastian Aho to score a short-handed goal, flipping the game and handing Carolina a 3-2 lead they would not relinquish. It was another costly mistake in a growing pattern that has defined this recent skid.

Seth Jarvis led the Hurricanes with two goals and an assist, while the Islanders struggled to contain Carolina’s speed and pressure throughout the night.

Ilya Sorokin, appearing in his 11th straight game, did what he could to keep the Isles in the game, stopping 36 shots. But once again, he was left with too much to overcome.

Anders Lee gave the Islanders life late, scoring with 1:37 remaining and the extra attacker on, cutting the deficit to one. New York pushed for the equalizer in the final minute, but couldn’t find the tying goal.

Now, with four straight losses and the standings tightening around them, the Islanders are running out of time — and answers.

For a team that thrived in tight games all season, these are the ones they can no longer afford to lose.