Game Preview: Islanders vs Hurricanes Apr. 14 2026

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (43-33-5) VS CAROLINA HURRICANES (52-22-7) 

7:00 PM | UBS ARENA | BUY TICKETS 

WATCH/STREAM: MSGSN 

LISTEN: 88.7FM | 103.9FM | ISLANDERS + UBS ARENA APP 

The New York Islanders finish the 2025-26 campaign with a home contest against the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday night. 

The Islanders were eliminated from playoff contention following their 4-1 defeat by the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday night. Casey Cizikas scored New York’s lone goal, and Ilya Sorokin stopped 18 of Montreal’s 22 shots in the loss. 

This marks the second straight season the Isles will miss the playoffs.

PROJECTED LINES 

Here is how the Islanders lined up at Sunday's game against the Canadiens. Check back after Tuesday’s morning skate with any changes to Head Coach Pete DeBoer’s lines. 

Anders Lee – Bo Horvat – Simon Holmstrom
Brayden Schenn – Mathew Barzal – Cal Ritchie
Anthony Duclair – JG Pageau – Emil Heineman
Kyle MacLean – Casey Cizikas – Marc Gatcomb  

Matthew Schaefer – Ryan Pulock 
Adam Pelech – Tony DeAngelo 
Carson Soucy – Scott Mayfield

Ilya Sorokin
David Rittich

PELECH’S PERFECT ATTENDANCE 

Adam Pelech is expected to play in his 82nd game of the season on Tuesday, marking the first time in his 10-year NHL career he’ll play a full slate of games. The defenseman has 16 points (4G, 12A) this season, along with 66 hits and 124 blocked shots. 

SCHAEFER ON RECORD WATCH 

Matthew Schaefer enters the season finale with 23 goals in his rookie campaign. He is tied with Brian Leetch (23) for the most tallies by a rookie defenseman in a single season in NHL history. Schaefer tied the record on Apr. 9 against the Toronto Maple Leafs.  

The 18-year-old is second on the team with 59 points (23G, 36A).

SEASON SERIES  

This is the third and final regular season meeting between the Isles and Hurricanes, but the first at UBS Arena this year. New York is 0-2-0 in the season series, with a 6-2 loss back on Oct. 30 and a 4-3 defeat most recently on Apr. 4. 

HURRICANES NOTES 

The Hurricanes are playing the back end of a back-to-back set and fell to the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 in a shootout on Monday night. Nikolaj Ehlers (1G, 1A) and Bradley Nadeau scored Carolina’s goals, while Brandon Bussi made 21 saves in the defeat. 

Carolina (111 points) is first place in the Metropolitan Division and clinched the top spot in the Eastern Conference, meaning they will hold home-ice advantage throughout the first three rounds of 2026 postseason. 

Sebastian Aho, Andrei Svechnikov, Seth Jarvis, Shayne Gostibehere and Jaccob Slavin did not suit up against the Flyers on Monday night. Aho (80), Svechnikov (70) and Jarvis (66) are three of the Hurricanes’ top four point leaders this season. 

Ehlers enters Tuesday night having recorded multi-point performances in consecutive games for the second time this season, and on a three-game point streak. He has five points (1G, 5A) in this three-game stretch and is tied for second on the team with 70 points (25G, 45A) in this campaign. 

Logan Stankoven is riding a seven-game point streak, with 10 points (7G, 3A) in that stretch. He has three points (1G, 2A) over the two previous meetings against New York. Stankoven has 43 points (21G, 22A) this season. 

Jackson Blake is coming into Tuesday night on a six-game point streak, earning eight points (1G, 7A). He has a goal in each game against the Isles this season. Blake ranks fifth on Carolina with 53 points (22G, 31A) this year. 

Nadeau has played 11 games this season, recording three points (3G) in those contests. He managed a goal in the first meeting against the Islanders on Oct. 30.  

Carolina ranks last in the NHL with 911 blocked shots, but this is because they don’t make it easy to get shots off against them, allowing a league-low 23.9 shots on goal against per game. 

The Hurricanes rank second in the NHL with 2,616 shots, as they’re a high-volume shooting team. They have outshot the Islanders 74-44 over the previous two meetings. 

The Hurricanes’ power-play (25.0%) is tied for the fifth best in the NHL this season. 

Carolina’s penalty kill (80.3%) ranks 10th in the league and just behind the Isles (80.8%).