Game 4 Preview: NY Islanders Aim to Keep Season Alive at home vs Carolina Hurricanes

Today's matinee is do or die for the NY Islanders, as they have fallen 0-3 to the Carolina Hurricanes. Their track record in afternoon games is not the best, and after outplaying the Hurricanes in game 1 and 3 and still losing, they Isles really have to pull out all the stops. Today could be the final game in an Islanders uniform for Matt Martin and Cal Clutterbuck. Birthday boy Semyon Varlamov is expected to make his third start in goal after relieving Ilya Sorokin in game 3. Head coach Patrick Roy expects his team to come out with a vengeance in front of the home crowd at UBS Arena.

LAST GAME

Despite outplaying the them throughout the night, the Isles lost 3-2 to the Hurricanes as they take a commanding 3-0 lead in the series. Brent Burns opened the scoring, followed by Dmitry Orlov to finish out the first period. Pierre Engvall brought the Isles within one with his first goal of the postseason. Sebastian Aho gave the Canes a 3-1 lead at 7:14 in the second period, causing Roy to make the decision to pull Sorokin, putting Varlamov back in net. Sorokin has struggled all season long, and his heartbreak and frustration was palpable even through the TV screen, as he sat in the tunnel still in his gear watching the rest of the game play out. Brock Nelson scored for the Isles 10 minutes later to close out the second period, but the Islanders were unable to get another goal past Frederik Andersen. Despite outplaying and out shooting the Hurricanes in the third period, the Canes were able to shut down all 11 SOG faced.

HISTORICAL MATCHUP

The Islanders are yet again facing elimination from round 1 of the post season at the hands of the Hurricanes. They found themselves in a similar situation last season in front of the home crowd, only last year they made it to game 6.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Anders Lee has really stepped up this postseason, with his line being one of the best for the Isles in the series. He has one goal and two assists in the last three games and has continued to make an impact every time he steps on the ice. Rookie Kyle MacLean has undoubtably been one of the best players for the Isles this series. He scored first for the blue and orange in game 1 and has continued to contribute every night. He's made a huge impact on the team since being called up from Bridgeport mid season, and is making an impact even without scoring.

Andrei Svechnikov has been absolutely lethal for the Hurricanes. He has garnered two assists in his last two games, and has been physical throughout the series.

PROJECTED LINEUP

ISLANDERS

Casey Cizikas- Bo Horvat- Mathew Barzal

Simon Holmstrom- Brock Nelson- Kyle Palmieri

Anders Lee- JG Pageau- Pierre Engvall

Simon Holmstrom- Kyle MacLean- Cal Clutterbuck

Adam Pelech- Ryan Pulock

Alexander Romanov- Noah Dobson

Mike Reilly- Robert Bortuzzo

Semyon Varlamov

Ilya Sorokin

CAROLINA

Jake Guentzel- Sebastian Aho- Andrei Svechnikov

Teuvo Teravainen- Jesperi Kotkaniemi- Martin Necas

Jordan Martinook- Jordan Staal- Seth Jarvis

Jack Drury- Evgeny Kuznetsov- Stefan Noesen

Jaccob Slavin- Brent Burns

Brady Skjei- Tony DeAngelo

Dmitry Orlov- Jalen Chatfield

Fredrik Andersen

Pyotr Kotchetkov