Round 1, Game 3 Preview: NY Islanders vs Carolina Hurricanes

After failing to pick up a win in Carolina, the NY Islanders will welcome the Carolina Hurricanes to Long Island for a must-win Game 3. This will be the first-ever playoff game to take place at UBS Arena, and hopefully, a win will be a sign of good things to come for the arena and franchise.

Last Game

The Islanders stepped their game up a lot in the second game of the series. After being down 2-0. goals by Kyle Palmieri and Mat Barzal would tie the game at two by the end of the second period. Around midway through the third period, Brock Nelson would give the Islanders their first lead of the series, but unfortunately, it wouldn't last long. A missed penalty in overtime would seal it, as the Hurricanes would score to put themselves up in the series, 2-0. This was a much better game for the Islanders, and hopefully, it can carry over into tonight's game.

From the Hurricane's side of things, Paul Statsny and Stefan Noesen would put them ahead, 2-0 to start the game. After giving up three unanswered goals to the Islanders, Jaccob Slavin would tie the game midway through the third period, forcing overtime. A missed high-sticking penalty would lead to a goal by Jesper Fast to seal the game. Thus, giving Carolina the 2-0 series lead. However, when the home ice changes, sometimes the whole series changes. Carolina will now be coming to "enemy" territory as they are going to be surely given a "warm" welcome to the UBS Arena. With the blue and orange army being electric as is, look for the series script to switch, and the Islanders to gain a lot of momentum.

Historical Matchup

The Islanders and Hurricanes squared off four times throughout the regular season. The first of which came back in October when the Islanders would dominate the Hurricanes putting six goals on the board, and only allowing two by Carolina. This was a full-team performance that saw the Islanders' whole team get involved. However, the remaining three games would not fair as well for the blue and orange.

The Hurricanes would defeat the Islanders in a shutout in early December, picking up three goals in the process. Almost a month later the Hurricanes would defeat the Islanders again, 5-2. In the final meeting of the regular season in early April, the Islanders would fall, 2-1. So far, including the playoffs, the Islanders have only won one game out of the six total times that these teams have met. Here's hoping that changes tonight.

Players to Watch

For the Islanders, Kyle Palmieri could very well be the player to surprise everyone. After a slow first game, Palmieri upped his game a lot in Game 2. Palmieri picked up the first goal to spark some life into the Islanders' offense and even was able to find Brock Nelson later on in the third period for the Islanders' third goal of the game. Palmieri has been a dark horse for much of his time here. When he's good, he's really good. However, when he's bad... yikes. So that begs the question, which Kyle Palmieri will show up tonight?

For the Hurricanes, Stefan Noesen continues to remain a problem for the Islanders. Noesen has picked up a goal in each of the two games so far in the playoffs, and the Islanders don't have much of an answer for him. After scoring the game-winning goal on Monday in Game 1, Noesen continued his momentum in Game 2, scoring the second goal of the game to put the Hurricanes ahead by two. The Islanders have to figure out how to slow down the Hurricanes' high-octane offense, and Noesen is a big part of that.

Projected Lines

Islanders

Anders Lee- Bo Horvat- Mat Barzal
Pierre Engvall- Brock Nelson- Kyle Palmieri
Zach Parise- JG Pageau- Hudson Fasching
Matt Martin- Casey Cizikas- Cal Clutterbuck

Adam Pelech- Ryan Pulock
Sebastian Aho- Scott Mayfield
Samuel Bolduc- Noah Dobson

Ilya Sorokin
Semyon Varlamov

Hurricanes

Jack Drury- Sebastian Aho- Seth Jarvis
Stefan Noesen- Jesperi Kotkaniemi- Martin Necas
Jordan Martinook- Jordan Staal- Jesper Fast
Jesse Puljujarvi- Paul Statsny- Derek Stepan

Jaccob Slavin- Brent Burns
Brady Skjei- Brett Pesce
Shayne Gostisbehere- Jalen Chatfield

Antti Raanta
Pyotr Kochetkov