3 reasons the Islanders can bounce back from a tough loss in Game 1 to Carolina

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Going into Game 1 against the Carolina Hurricanes, it would have been hard to blame any hockey fan thinking it would be an easy win for one of the East’s best teams. The New York Islanders needed to get hot and for a lot to happen just to end up in a playoff rematch against Carolina, and there were wild card teams in the Western Conference that looked way more formidable than New York on paper.

Then the Isles skated into PNC Arena and played some good hockey, matching the Canes well all afternoon. No, the game didn’t end the way fans on Long Island and those supporting the Isles throughout the globe wanted, but it’s nothing this team can’t bounce back from.

Let’s discuss three reasons the Isles can put this game in the rearview and go into Game 2 with some optimism.

New York limited Carolina’s shots on net

Goaltender Semyon Varlamov faced just 25 shots against, and it made for a surprising performance from a team that allowed nearly 33 shots on net per game in the regular season, putting them ahead of only the Montreal Canadiens, San Jose Sharks, and Columbus Blue Jackets in the category.

What’s more? Carolina finished the year with 33.32 shots on net per contest, putting them third in the league and behind only the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers. For the Isles to severely limit what Carolina could do last night it could foreshadow that this series may not ultimately turn out the way one would logistically expect.

There are no guarantees this will continue into Game 2, but nevertheless, credit the Isles for finding a way to stifle Carolina’s sensational scoring units. While New York limited Carolina’s shot attempts, they also came up with plenty of their own, even if they found the back of the net just once.

Luck shouldn’t play a role, but it did

Wow, it’s so easy to argue that the Islanders did more in the offensive zone than what the final score indicated. Carolina’s goaltender, Frederik Andersen, may have enjoyed an epic game on the stat sheet with 33 saves on 34 shot attempts, good for a 0.971 save percentage, but how many times did the post give him help?

Sure, Andersen made a few showstopping saves, but if luck wasn’t 100 percent (or seemingly) on Carolina’s side yesterday, the Isles are leading the series right now. Even more impressive is the fact New York logged 34 shots on goal and it came following a regular season when they averaged just 30.1 per game, 19th in the NHL.

They created chaos, which is mandatory in the playoffs, and gave themselves enough looks and the correct shot selection to win. If there is any good news here, it’s that luck can’t bail out Carolina for another three games, so if the Isles give the Canes another few matchups like that, the end result may turn out in their favor.

If they get just a little more accurate with their respective shots, Game 2 will be interesting. No guarantees they will bounce back, but the Isles have little to be discouraged about following Game 1.

The Isles could play the same game with a different result

It’s true that head coach Patrick Roy should let this team know that if anyone needs to make major adjustments heading into Game 2, it’s Carolina. New York had the Hurricanes number for most of the middle frame, and if they play that way for all 60 minutes in Game 2 and Carolina doesn’t adjust, there is a good chance the Isles will tie the series.

This isn’t saying Roy won’t make adjustments or won’t inevitably be forced to tweak the Isles game at some point. We can’t expect the same Carolina Hurricanes team that we saw on Saturday, but Isles fans should at least exercise some peace of mind in the fact their team isn’t the one that needs to do anything dramatic.

It’s all about making sure the puck ends up in the net and not off the post, and that Frederik Andersen isn’t in position to make quite a few of those “highlight-reel” saves. If there is one adjustment the Isles could make, it’s to get a little more physical, as they landed just 19 body checks, well under the 25.12 per game they earned during the regular season. More physical play will be beneficial for this team in Game 2 and beyond.

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(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)

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