UBS Keys to the Game: Islanders vs Hurricanes

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (35-33-10) VS CAROLINA HURRICANES (51-20-8)1 PM | UBS ARENA | BUY TICKETSWATCH: MSG+ | MSG GO | ESPN+LISTEN: 88.7FM | 103.9FM | 98.7FM
The New York Islanders head into the final week of their season when they take on the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday afternoon at UBS Arena.
Starting Sunday, the Islanders have four games remaining and they are looking to finish a non-playoff season on a positive note.

However, the Islanders enter Sunday's game on a four-game winless streak (0-3-1) after dropping a 5-3 decision to the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday. Mathew Barzal, Noah Dobson and Kieffer Bellows scored for the Islanders, but ultimately a three-goal second period proved to be the difference.
Carolina enters the game off a dramatic 3-2 OT win over the New Jersey Devils on Saturday afternoon. Carolina scored twice in the final 4:36 to force OT before Seth Jarvis won it in the extra frame. The win extended the Hurricanes winning streak to three games.
The Hurricanes leads the Metropolitan Division with 110 points, two points up on the New York Rangers with three games to play.

ISLANDERS NOTES:

• Noah Dobson scored his 12th goal of the season on Saturday, which officially marked the most goals for an Isles defenseman in the last decade, one more than Nick Leddy's 11 in 2016-17. Dobson extended his point streak to three games (1G, 4A) and upped his season total to 47 points (12G, 35A). Dobson is looking to become the first Islanders' defenseman to hit the 50-point plateau since Mark Streit had 56 points (16G, 40A) in 2008-09.
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  - Mathew Barzal also extended his point streak to three games (1G, 2A) with a goal on Saturday. Barzal leads the Islanders with 39 assists and is second on the team with 54 points.
  - Semyon Varlamov is expected to start against the Hurricanes after Ilya Sorokin started Saturday's game against the Sabres. Varlamov is coming off a 6-3 loss to the New York Rangers on Thursday at UBS Arena. The 33-year-old netminder has lost three straight games with his last win coming in a 27-save shutout over the Rangers on April 1.
  - Sunday marks the Islanders third game in four days. Sunday also marks the 17th back-to-back set for the Islanders this season. They are 9-7-1 in the front half and 6-9-1 in the back half of back to backs this year. The Islanders season will conclude with a back-to-back against Washington and Tampa Bay this week.
  - The Islanders are 1-1-0 against Carolina this season, winning 2-1 on April 8 in Raleigh, while losing 6-3 on Oct. 14. The Hurricanes are the final opponent to visit UBS Arena this season.
  - The Islanders are 1-4-1 in their last six games. It's the first time since the 0-8-3 stretch in November/ December that the Isles (0-3-1) have gone at least four games without a win.
  - JG Pageau (COVID-19 protocol) and Anthony Beauvillier (upper body) are both expected to miss Sunday's game, per Head Coach Barry Trotz.

HURRICANES NOTES:

• Saturday's game saw the NHL debut of Pyotr Kochetkov, who stopped 17 of 19 shots for his first-career win. Kochetkov, a 2019 second-round pick (36th overall), started the season with Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod of the KHL before coming stateside to join the Chicago Wolves in the AHL. Kochetkov was recalled as starting goalie Frederik Andersen is out week-to-week with a lower-body injury.
  - With Kochetkov starting Saturday, Antti Raanta is the expected starter on Sunday vs the Islanders. The veteran netminder is 14-5-4 this season with a 2.44 GAA, a .912 SV% and two shutouts.
  - Defenseman Tony DeAngelo set up the game-tying and game-winning goals for Carolina on Saturday. That upped DeAngelo's assist total to 41, passing Joni Pitkanen for the most by a Hurricanes d-man in a single season. DeAngelo's 51 points also set a single-season record for a Canes blueliner.
  - Sebastian Aho leads the Hurricanes in goals (36) and points (78) and is tied for the team lead in assists (42). Since Aho entered the league in 2016-17, his 181 goals rank ninth over that span, while his 398 points are 21st. Aho's three-game point streak was snapped on Saturday in New Jersey.
  - The Hurricanes boast the league's top penalty kill, with an 88.1% kill rate.