UBS Keys to the Game: Islanders at Hurricanes

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (32-28-9) VS CAROLINA HURRICANES (46-17-8)7 PM ET | PNC ARENAWATCH: MSG+ | MSG GO | ESPN+LISTEN: 88.7FM | 103.9FM | 1050AM
The New York Islanders are looking to bounce back after Tuesday's loss as they battle the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena. Friday marks the fourth game of a five-game road trip for New York.
The Islanders are coming off a 3-2 loss to the Dallas Stars on Tuesday night. While the scoring was tight, the Stars outshot the Islanders 40-21. Jean-Gabriel Pageau (14th goal) and Brock Nelson (33rd) scored for the Islanders in the loss. Radek Faksa had the shorthanded game-winner for Dallas. Semyon Varlamov made 37 saves on 40 shots. The Islanders' record dropped to 32-28-9, putting them 13 points behind the Washington Capitals, who picked up two points in their 4-3 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday.

The Hurricanes came from behind to defeat the Buffalo Sabres 5-3 on Thursday night to avoid consecutive losses to the Sabres. Buffalo scored on the first and second shots of the night, with 2:36 in between goals, but Sebastian Aho and Jordan Staal both had a two-goal performance, and Teuvo Teravainen picked up his 19th goal of the season in the Hurricanes' comeback victory. Carolina is known for explosive third frames, leading the NHL in third period goal differential (+37). Both teams were unsuccessful on the power play, with Carolina going 0-for-2 and Buffalo going 0-for-3.
The last time the Islanders and Hurricanes crossed paths was the season-opener for both clubs, resulting in a 6-3 loss for the Islanders. Anders Lee, Mat Barzal, and Brock Nelson had goals in the loss, while Ilya Sorokin stopped 35 of 40 shots. Lee, Barzal and Nelson all have notable career numbers against Carolina. Lee (9G, 11A) has 20 points through 24 games played, Barzal (2G, 6A) put up 8 points in his 12 games against Carolina, and Nelson (10G, 10A) posted 20 points in his 27 games against the Hurricanes.
The Islanders are 35-44-0-7 (W-L-T-OTL) since the Hurricanes relocated to Carolina in 1997-98. After Friday's matchup, they'll go head-to-head one more time on April 24 at UBS Arena.

ISLANDERS NOTES:

• As the Islanders head into the first half of a back-to-back set, Ilya Sorokin and Semyon Varlamov will likely each receive a start over the next two games. Trotz has not yet revealed which Russian goaltender will be in net against the Hurricanes on Friday. Sorokin hasn't played since suffering an upper-body injury on March 27 vs the Tampa Bay Lightning. Sorokin backed up Varlamov on Tuesday after sitting out the previous four games.
UPDATE: Ilya Sorokin will start in goal for the Islanders on Friday night.
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• Josh Bailey's recorded his 545th point on Tuesday, putting him eighth all-time in points in franchise history, surpassing John Tonelli (544) on that list. With the assist against Dallas, he's 21 points behind Pat LaFontaine, who ranks 7th in Islanders history with 566 points. Bailey now has 34 points on the season and has recorded more than 34 points for six seasons straight.
• Kyle Palmieri took a maintenance day on Thursday, but is expected to be available on Friday night. The Long Island native, who was acquired from the Devils exactly one year and one day ago, is on the cusp of his 200th career goal, with 198 goals spanning his 13 seasons in the NHL.
• Zach Parise (11G, 17A) is the Islanders' reigning iron-man, the only player on the team to have played in all 69 games this season. The Minnesota native is 100th-leading goal scorer in NHL history with 404 goals.
• Noah Dobson picked up his 30th assist and 40th point after Tuesday's performance, and came up with a notable play to keep the Islanders in the game. The young defenseman blocked two shots, including a block on Pavelski with the net empty late in the third. "You're in the fight, stay in the fight until the very end," said Trotz. "That's a good attribute for [Dobson]... he gave us one more opportunity to get up ice."
• With four goals in his last two games and eight points in the last eight games, Jean-Gabriel Pageau is red-hot for the Islanders. He now has 34 points on the season, his third-highest total points in a single season in his career.
• The Islanders' penalty kill is perfect through their last five games, and it ranks fourth in the NHL overall (84.2%). The Islanders killed 52 of 58 in their last 20 games.
• The Islanders have a rigid schedule for their remaining 13 games. Eleven matchups are against teams in a playoff position. Six home games remain.

HURRICANES NOTES:

• With Thursday's comeback win over the Sabres, the Hurricanes clinched a playoff spot and snapped a two-game losing streak. Carolina remains first in the Metropolitan Division and reached 100 points in 71 games played. The Hurricanes have not exceeded 100 points since the 2005-06 season (112). Carolina is the third team this season to reach 100 points, following the Florida Panthers (104) and Colorado Avalanche (106).
• Antti Raanta was in net for the victory on Thursday, stopping 18 of 21 shots, and earning his 12th win of the season. With Carolina's back-to-back set, Frederik Andersen is expected to start against the Islanders on Friday. Andersen has 33 wins in his first season with the Hurricanes with a 2.07 GAA, a .926 SV% and four shutouts.
• Teuvo Teravainen played his 400th career game wearing a Hurricanes uniform on Thursday, netting his 19th goal of the season in the milestone game. The Finnish winger also leads the team in assists (39).
• Sebastian Aho is the team leader in goals (33) and in points (71). In his last 10 games, he netted six goals and recorded 10 points. With his 177th career goal on Thursday night, Aho passed Jeff O'Neill for third-most goals by a Hurricane since the team moved to Carolina.
• Andrei Svechnikov recorded a career-high 62 points with two assists in his team's win over the Sabres on Thursday.
• The Hurricanes boast the NHL's top-ranked penalty kill at 88%, though they have allowed a power-play goal in three of their last five games.