Game Preview: Islanders vs Hurricanes

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (23-19-5) VS CAROLINA HURRICANES (28-9-8)
7:30 PM ET | UBS ARENA | BUY TICKETS
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The New York Islanders are looking to snap a three-game winless streak on Saturday, as they'll take on the Carolina Hurricanes at UBS Arena.
The season series between the Islanders and Hurricanes is knotted at one apiece. The Islanders were victorious in the first meeting this season, winning 6-2 on Oct. 28. Brock Nelson (2G), Mat Barzal (2A) Anthony Beauvillier (2A) all had multi-point performances, while Josh Bailey had a goal in his 1000th career game. The Hurricanes evened the season series on Dec. 10 with a 3-0 shutout at UBS Arena.

The Islanders salvaged a point in Thursday's 3-2 overtime loss to the Buffalo Sabres with the help of Ilya Sorokin's 42-save performance. Brock Nelson opened the scoring and Matt Martin took back the lead to make it 2-1 heading into the third frame, but the Sabres kept battling back with goals from Alex Tuch, Victor Olofsson and an OT winner from Dylan Cozens to lead the Sabres to the victory.
The Hurricanes are coming off a 5-2 win over the Minnesota Wild on Thursday night on home ice. Although the Wild scored the initial and last goal of the game, the Hurricanes strung together five consecutive goals from Brent Burns, Brady Skjei (PPG), Teuvo Teravainen (SHG), Jalen Chatfield and Martin Necas (PPG) to earn the win.
The Islanders are sixth in the Metropolitan Division with 51 points, tied with the Pittsburgh Penguins, who occupy the second wild card spot with three games in-hand. The Hurricanes (64 points) hold the top spot in the division, just two points ahead of the New Jersey Devils (62 points).

ISLANDERS NOTES:

• Hudson Fasching (lower-body) did not play in Thursday's matchup against the Sabres, while Cal Clutterbuck left the game after two periods with an upper-body injury and did not return. Per Head Coach Lane Lambert, he is out day-to-day.
  - The Islanders dropped their third straight contest in a 3-2 loss in overtime to the Buffalo Sabres, but Lambert said it was a hard-fought battle against an energetic Sabres team on Thursday night following a Ryan Miller jersey retirement, as well as other challenges for the Islanders.
  "We started off the game shorthanded in the
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  - Zach Parise scored 20 goals against the Hurricanes in his career, with his 20th coming in the first game of this year's season series, adding to his 34 career points recorded against the franchise.
  - Noah Dobson and Scott Mayfield are on the cusp of reaching their milestone career 100th point, both at 99 apiece.
  - The Islanders penalty kill has been strong, allowing only one goal in the last 18 penalties taken, going 17-for-18 (94.5%) over the span of seven games.
  - New York is fourth in the league in blocked shots (780) including 28 on Thursday.

HURRICANES NOTES:

• The Hurricanes are second-best team in the NHL while occupying the top spot in the Metro with 64 points. Carolina earned points in their last four contests (3-0-1) and their record on the road is 14-4-6.
  - Max Pacioretty was helped off the ice in the waning minutes of Thursday's game with a non-contact injury. The veteran forward returned on Jan 5. for his Hurricanes debut after missing the first half of the season recovering from a torn Achillies. Pacioretty is expected to undergo an MRI on Friday. The 34-year-old recorded three goals in his first five games with Carolina after being traded from the Vegas Golden Knights last year.
  "We know what kind of a player he is," said Head Coach Rod Brind'Amour said on Thursday night. "We got a glimpse of it, and that was exciting. Hopefully it's not as bad as we think, but I'm not too optimistic right now."
  - Brady Skjei set a new career-high with his 10th goal of the season on Thursday. The defenseman has 22 goals in nearly three seasons with Carolina.
  - Martin Necas leads the Hurricanes in assists (23) and points overall (41) this season. The 24-year-old forward is riding a career-high 18 goals and will reach a career-best 42 points with his next point.
  - Andrei Svechnikov leads Carolina in goals (19).
  - The Hurricanes power play ranks 26th in the NHL (18.8%) but has shown improvement with two power play goals in Thursday's contest against the Wild.

ALUMNI WEEKEND

To celebrate 2023 Alumni Weekend, Mystery Alumni Bags will be sold throughout the game in section 109 on Saturday night UBS Arena. The bags consist of 7-8 autographed items from Islanders alumni and could include an autographed jersey, player cards, photos, numbers and mini helmets. Each mystery bag will be sold for $50 and all proceeds benefit the Islanders Children's Foundation.

HOCKEY WITH A HEART

The Ray Pfeifer Foundation's purpose is to assist with medical needs not covered by insurance - for 9/11 First Responders. "Do the right thing, even when no one is looking," words you'd often hear from Ray Pfeifer.