Game Preview: Islanders at Hurricanes

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (28-15-4) AT CAROLINA HURRICANES (27-18-3)
5 PM | PNC ARENA
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The New York Islanders look to get back on track as they wrap up a back-to-back set against the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday night.
The Isles have lost two straight games, most recently dropping a 6-4 decision to the Washington Capitals on Saturday afternoon. Brock Nelson, Casey Cizikas, Jordan Eberle (power play) and Devon Toews scored for the Islanders. The Isles relinquished a 4-1 lead as the Caps scored five-straight goals. Semyon Varlamov made 24 saves.

The Canes have lost their last two games after falling to Anaheim 2-1 in overtime on Friday night. Sebastian Aho scored Carolina's sole goal against the Ducks, while James Reimer made 35 saves.

AFTERNOON UPDATES (Carolina updates via CarolinaHurricanes.com):

• After dropping four of their last five games, including three regulation losses to Metro Division opponents, the Isles look to rebound against the Canes who are another divisional opponent.
  "It's on us. We don't have any excuses, it's on us," head coach Barry Trotz said. "We just have to change our mindset a little bit because our mindset has to be all team."
  - Justin Williams is likely to make his season debut against the Islanders tonight. Carolina head coach Rod Brind'Amour confirmed that Williams will take warmups but did not say whether or not he would be in the lineup. The 38-year-old winger didn't play throughout the first stretch of the season.
  - Canes Projected Lineup:
  Niederreiter-Staal-Svechnikov
  Foegele-Aho-Teravainen
  Dzingel-Haula-Necas
  McGinn-Wallmark-Williams
  Slavin-Edmundson
  Gardiner-Pesce
  Fleury-van Riemsdyk
  Reimer
  Mrazek

ISLANDERS NOTES:

• Nelson scored his 19th goal of the season and extended his point streak to four games with five points (4G, 2A) during that span. Nelson leads the Isles in goals and his 37 points (through 47 games) are second on the club this season.
  - Cizikas scored his 10th goal of the season. Cizikas has 14 points through 40 games this season.
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  - Toews scored his fourth goal of the season and recorded his first three-point night of his career. Through 47 games this season, the defenseman has 18 points.
  - Eberle scored his seventh goal of the season and his second power-play goal of the season. Eberle has four goals in the past six games. Through 37 games, the winger has 23 points.
  - Anthony Beauvillier extended his point streak to three games as he had two assists against the Caps. The winger has 28 points this season (12G, 16A) through 47 games.
  - Varlamov made his 27th start of the season. The Russian netminder has a record of 15-7-4, a 2.50 goals against average and a .918 save percentage.
  - Anders Lee played in his 247th consecutive game on Saturday, moving into sole possession of fifth on the Isles' all-time ironman list.
  - The Isles scored their first power play goal after going 0-for-6 through the last two games. The Isles power play is ranked 21st overall with a conversion rate of 18.5%.
  - The Isles penalty kill was a perfect 4-for-4 against Washington. In the NHL, the PK unit is ranked 17th overall at 80.0%.
  - The Islanders are 16-2-1 on the second day of back-to-backs under Barry Trotz.

HURRICANES NOTES:

• Aho scored his team-leading 24th goal of the season against the Ducks. Aho's 24 goals are tied for the eighth-most in the NHL. Through 48 games this season, Aho has 41 points, good for third on the Hurricanes
  - Teuvo Teravainen added an assist in his second-straight game. The Finnish winger leads the Canes in points with 45 and assists with 36 through 48 games.
  - Reimer made his 18th start of the season. Reimer has a record of 10-6-1, a 2.56 GAA and a .919 SV% with his new club.
  - Friday marked the Hurricanes' first game without Dougie Hamilton, as the defenseman broke his leg against Columbus on Thursday. Hamilton had surgery on the injury and is out indefinitely. Through 47 games this season, Hamilton had 40 points (14G, 26A), which is ranked fourth-most among defenseman in the NHL. Hamilton's 14 goals are second-most among defenseman in the league.
  - Justin Williams is expected to make his season debut for the Hurricanes on Sunday. Williams, an 18-year veteran and former Canes captain, signed a one-year deal with the Hurricanes on Jan. 7. If he returns, he's likely to play alongside Lucas Wallmark and Brock McGinn.
  - Czech rookie Martin Necas is tied for third in the NHL among rookies for goals with 11. Through 44 games this season, Necas has 26 points.
  - The Canes 2.71 goals against per game is tied for sixth lowest in the NHL. The Isles are ranked fifth in the NHL with a 2.63 goals against per game.
  - Carolina's power play is ranked ninth in the NHL with a conversion percentage of 21.6%. Against Anaheim, Carolina's power play went 0-for-2.
  - The Canes penalty kill is also ranked ninth in the league with a conversion percentage of 82.8%. Against the Ducks, Carolina's PK went 2-for-2.

ISLES VS. CANES

The Canes claimed the first meeting of the season back on October 11 with a 5-2 result. Nelson and Johnny Boychuk scored for the Isles while Teravainen, Brett Pesce, Erik Haula, Hamilton, and Andrei Svechnikov scored for the Canes.