Recap: Canes Shut Out by Islanders

Analysis from Raleigh
→ In their penultimate home game of the 2016-17 regular season, the Carolina Hurricanes were shut out by the New York Islanders, 3-0. Jaroslav Halak made 29 saves, and Brock Nelson's goal not even 90 seconds into the game was the game-winner.
"They came out and outskated us," Lee Stempniak said. "As the game wore on, things evened up, but we dug ourselves too big of a hole."
"That was hard to watch, right?" head coach Bill Peters said. "I thought we were flat and stayed flat."

→ Tonight's game didn't much resemble the previous meetings between the two teams this season, high-scoring affairs that resulted in a combined 37 goals, with the Hurricanes outscoring the Islanders 22-15.
No, tonight's game wasn't that, at least not for the guys in red. The Hurricanes more so resembled a team that was mathematically eliminated from the playoffs just two days ago, a team that after fighting against nearly all odds to make a late-season push to the postseason, had their thrilling run come to a screeching halt.
"I didn't think we had the required intensity to execute at a high level. That's really what it amounts to," Peters said.
→ Peters said this morning that he wanted his team to have a better start than they did in Minnesota on Tuesday night. The Islanders scored twice in the first five minutes of the game and added a goal in the first minute of the second period.

"That was a disappointing start to the game and a disappointing start in Minny, so that will be a focus for our next game against St. Louis," Peters said.
"We just didn't have it tonight early on," Stempniak said. "As it went on we played better, but it was just a case of too little, too late for us. We just couldn't get a goal."
→ The Hurricanes will close out the 2016-17 regular season this weekend with a back-to-back set beginning at home on Saturday against the St. Louis Blues and ending on Sunday in Philadelphia.
"When you don't play as well as you're capable of and you don't have the puck, then you have to really work hard," Peters said. "I would suggest that you go back to work, find our identity again, share the workload and finish this off properly."