Takeaways: Islanders Fall 4-3 to Hurricanes in Second Half of Back-to-Back Set

The New York Islanders losing streak reached a season-long four games as they dropped a 4-3 contest to the Carolina Hurricanes at Lenovo Center on Saturday night. 

Marc Gatcomb, Max Shabanov and Anders Lee scored for the Islanders, but it wasn’t enough to combat offense from Seth Jarvis (2G), Jackson Blake and Sebastian Aho (SHG). Ilya Sorokin stopped 36 of 40 shots faced while Brandon Bussi turned aside 13 of 16 shots for the Canes.

Four straight losses marks the longest losing streak of the season for the Islanders, as four games of the regular season remain.

“You can’t drop games like this,” Scott Mayfield said. “We haven’t lost four in a row all season and it’s not a good week to do that.”

The Islanders (89 points) remained in third in the Metropolitan Division. The Pittsburgh Penguins (94 points) are starting to pull away after a 9-4 win over the Florida Panthers. The Columbus Blue Jackets (88 points) fell to the Winnipeg Jets 2-1. The Blue Jackets and Penguins each have a game in-hand over the Isles. 

The Boston Bruins (94 points) lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-1 but retain the first wild card spot in the East. The Ottawa Senators (88 points) hold the second wild card spot after they beat the Minnesota Wild 4-1. 

Earlier in the day, the Detroit Red Wings fell to the New York Rangers 4-1. 

“We’re right there. We’re right there in the standings,” Head Coach Patrick Roy said. “It’s not the time of year we can feel sorry for ourselves. You have to go out there and play, focus on the next game.”

TAKEAWAYS

• The Islanders faced a tough opponent on the road, finding it hard to break through Carolina's aggresive style of play as they were outshot 40-16.

“This is one of the best teams in the league, and they're one of the best teams in the league at home,” Lee said. “The pressure they put on us tonight was tough for us to break for most of that game.”

• After Gatcomb took a holding penalty, he hit the scoresheet out of the box and crashed the net, converting a feed from Simon Holmstrom to take a 1-0 lead at the 5:17 mark of the first period. The Islanders nearly had a 2-0 lead when Palat’s shot beat Bussi but hit the right post and bounced out. Instead, the Hurricanes turned the tide and Jarvis tied the score on a breakaway at the 11:07 mark of the first period. 

• Shabanov made the most in his return to the lineup, as he scored a crucial second period goal that gave the Isles a 2-1 lead in his first game since Mar. 13. Cal Ritchie made a heads-up play behind the net, controlling the puck and zipping it to Shabanov by the goal line. The Russian winger took a sharp angle shot that bounced off Bussi’s shoulder and in 2:15 into the middle frame. Shabanov recorded 13:35 TOI, two hits, one shot on goal on a line with Brayden Schenn and Cal Ritchie.

• Carolina knotted the score again when Blake received a centering feed from Logan Stankoven and went five-hole on Sorokin at the 11:15 mark of the second period. Building off that momentum, Jarvis fed Aho on a 2-on-1 and Aho took the Hurricanes’ first lead of the game with a shorthanded goal that made it 3-2 with 3:43 left in the middle frame. 
• The Islanders couldn’t muster a third period comeback, as Jarvis put them in a two-goal deficit with his second goal of the night 24 seconds into the final frame, taking advantage of an Islanders defensive breakdown. Lee scored late in the third to make it 4-3 but the Isles couldn't find the game-tying goal.

“If you look at the last couple minutes, a lot of those shots could have gone in,” Mayfield said. “We were close to tying it up. The shots tonight were lopsided, but that happens a lot in this building.”

• The Islanders PK went 3-for-3. The penalty kill was a huge key to the game, as the Hurricanes entered the contest with a league-best power play, which went 46-for-150 (30.6%) since Dec. 6.

• Sorokin made 36 saves in his 11th consecutive appearance, and second time in the past four games he's played in the back half of a back-to-back set. 

“It was a one goal game because of him,” Lee said of Sorokin. “He’s outstanding. He gave us a chance.”

• George played his third game of the season and first since Jan. 26. He recorded 10:21 TOI, recorded one shot on goal and a plus-one rating.

“It’s not easy coming into a situation like this, but he did a really nice job,” Roy said of George. 

• JG Pageau recorded his 400th career point.

NEXT GAME

The Islanders return to Long Island to open a four-game homestand to wrap up the regular season. They have four days without games before then, as puck drop against the Toronto Maple Leafs is set for 6:45PM on Thursday.