Takeaways: Islanders Drop Third Straight Game with 6-2 Loss to Hurricanes 

The New York Islanders fell 6-2 to the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night at Lenovo Center.

Matthew Schaefer (PPG) and Simon Holmstrom scored for the Islanders, but it wasn’t enough to overcome offense from Carolina’s Bradly Nadeau, Mike Reilly, Jordan Martinook, Jackson Blake, Andrei Svechnikov and Logan Stankoven.

David Rittich dropped his first game as an Islander, turning aside 27 of 33 shots faced. Brandon Bussi made 26 saves in the win for Carolina.

The Islanders have lost three straight games (0-2-1), all on the road. The Islanders record dropped below NHL-.500 for the first time since Oct. 18.

“We know in this building, once they start coming they put pressure on, a couple turnovers led to goals and all of a sudden we’re on our heels,” Ryan Pulock said postgame.

TAKEAWAYS

• The Islanders let the game get away from them early, surrendering three goals in the opening 10:21. The Hurricanes capitalized off a Max Tsyplakov turnover in the Islanders’ zone, where Nadeau picked up the puck on the inside of the left circle and quickly whipped a shot through Rittich for his first career NHL goal. Former Islander Mike Reilly scored a shorthanded wraparound goal against his former team to extend the Canes lead to 2-0 before Martinook tapped in a loose puck behind Rittich to take a commanding 3-0 lead for Carolina. The Islanders seemed to settle in after allowing the three goals, but could not climb out of the deficit.

“We dug ourselves a hole in the first period,” Ryan Pulock said. “We started to come on better in the second half of the [first] period and we were trying to claw ourselves back, but we weren’t able to sustain anything.”

• Schaefer netted his third goal of the season and second on the power play, beating Bussi clean with a long shot. It snapped a drought, marking the first PPG the Islanders scored in their last 13 attempts.
• Alexander Romanov made his return to the lineup after missing five games with an injury, skating 19:40 TOI in his return. He looked like his usual self out there, laying a hip check on Nikolaj Ehlers in the second period and another big hit on Jackson Blake in the third.

“I thought he looked solid,” said Head Coach Patrick Roy. “He had a great hit in that second period, he moved the puck well, I was very happy with his game.”

• In the absence of Mathew Barzal, who did not play because he was late on Thursday, Roy opted to line up Adam Boqvist on the left side of Kyle MacLean and Max Tsyplakov as opposed to going with seven forwards and 11 defensemen. Boqvist recorded 11:25 TOI, one hit, two giveaways and three shot attempts. The outing marked the third time Boqvist played out of his natural position in his career. He played at center on Mar. 9 against Anaheim and played at wing on Mar. 24 against Columbus.
• The Islanders went 1-for-4 on the power play and 1-for-1 on the penalty kill.

NEXT GAME

The Islanders have a quick turnaround before their next game, as they face the Washington Capitals to complete the back-to-back set on Friday night. Puck drop is set for 7PM.