Game 2 Preview: Islanders vs Hurricanes

NEW YORK ISLANDERS VS CAROLINA HURRICANES
ROUND 2 GAME 2 | CAR LEAD 1-0
3 PM | BARCLAYS CENTER | BUY TICKETS
WATCH: NBC | CBC | SN | TVA SPORTS
LISTEN: 88.7FM WRHU | 103.9FM LI NEWS | RADIO.COM/ISLANDERS

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ISLANDERS NOTES:

• Game 1 against Carolina marked the Isles first loss of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Islanders had 10 days in between round one and round two after sweeping the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-0 in the first round. The Islanders are remaining confident despite the defeat.
  "From experience, I do remember a team that I was a part of last year that didn't win our first two games," Barry Trotz said referencing the Washington Capitals 0-2 start against Columbus last spring. "We are facing a team that didn't win their first two games last series. If that would have been the case it would have been the best of two. That's not the case. It's best of four. It's a race to four."
  - Mathew Barzal's four-game assist streak ended on Friday night as did Jordan Eberle's four-game goal streak. Barzal had a goal disallowed at 17:07 in the second period, as Anders Lee was called for goalie interference on the play. The 21-year-old center is still looking to score his first career playoff goal.
  - Robin Lehner made 31 saves in Game 1 and had stopped 63 consecutive shots during a shutout span of 123:29 shutout prior to Staal's overtime goal.
  "Robin is consistently our best player," Matt Martin said on Friday. "We wish we could have given him a little goal support, but that didn't happen tonight. We'll regroup, rebound and try to get a win on Sunday."
  - The Isles and Hurricanes traded odd-man chances on Friday, a little uncharacteristic of the Isles stingy structure. Mrazek stopped Josh Bailey on a first period breakaway, while Lehner denied a backhander on a breakaway from Greg McKegg midway through the second period.
  "The identity of our team is the way we play defensively," Eberle said. "Yesterday we tried to change chances a little bit too much. We gave up a couple of breakaways which we haven't done in a while and some odd-man rushes that were a bit uncharacteristic. We've just got to get back to the way that we know we've had success with, and we'll be fine."
  - The Islanders out-hit the Hurricanes 44-38. Matt Martin had a team-high of nine hits.
  - Scott Mayfield and Leo Komarov did not skate in the Islanders practice on Saturday afternoon. Both players took maintenance days.
  - The Isles have allowed the first goal in four straight games.

HURRICANES NOTES:

• The Hurricanes overtime victory marked the second straight victory requiring extra time. The Hurricanes knocked out the defending Cup champions (Washington) with a 4-3 double overtime Game 7 victory on Wednesday.
  - Staal is riding a three-game goal streak. The 30-year-old centerman has six points (4G, 2A) in the 2019 playoffs. Staal was positioned on the backdoor just in time for Nino Niederreiter's shot from the slot to sail wide and find Staal all alone.
  - The Hurricanes took a rest day on Saturday and did not skate.
  - Jordan Martinook did not play against the Islanders in Game 1. The Canes forward suffered a lower-body injury in Game 4 against Washington and did not play in Game 5. Martinook returned for Games 6 and 7 but was kept out for either overtime period in Game 7.
  - Micheal Ferland left Game 3 with an upper-body injury and hasn't played since.
  - Andrei Svechnikov sustained an upper-body injury in Game 3 and did not play for the remainder of the series. The 19-year-old Russian forward did not play in Game 1 and was ruled a game-time decision. There is no update on Svechnikov's status for Game 2 yet.
  "Just be aware of him if he plays]," Trotz said. "He's an outstanding young talent in the league. He's got an exceptional skill set, great release and looks like he's going to be a very effective player in this league for a long time."
  ***RELATED LINKS***
  ***[READ: Isles Remain Confident After Loss
  READ: Isles Feel Trotz "Deserves" Jack Adams Nomination
  VIDEO: Barry Trotz Practice Update 4/27
  VIDEO: Mathew Barzal Practice Update 4/27
  VIDEO: Jordan Eberle Practice Update 4/27*
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