RALEIGH, N.C. --The New York Islanders know at least one area they'll need to improve upon in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference First Round against the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena on Wednesday.
New York was 0-for-4 on the power play and its penalty kill allowed two goals on four chances in a 2-1 loss in Game 1 on Monday.
"Our special teams need to be better," Islanders coach Lane Lambert said. "We gave up two goals on our kill, so we're making some tweaks to both things and we'll take it from there."
The Islanders worked on a different power-play alignment, switching from a 1-3-1 with one point player to a 2-1-2 with two players on the point, during their morning skate Wednesday. But regardless of the formation, they'll need better execution.
RELATED: [Complete Hurricanes vs. Islanders series coverage]
After getting four shots on goal and not converting on their first opportunity in Game 1, the Islanders didn't have a shot on goal in their final three power play chances.
"We'll see what happens in terms of what formation," Lambert said. "Things flow back and forth. If you have a power play that's stationary and stagnant, it's not going to work, so there's a couple different variations there."
The Hurricanes experienced in Game 1 how much scoring on the power play can help confidence. Carolina went 5-for-46 (10.9 percent) with the man-advantage in its final 18 regular season games before converting on its first two chances Monday.
"Every time, even at the beginning of the game, if you get a couple shots on the power play, a few little touches, it makes you feel much better," Hurricanes forward Martin Necas said. "Everyone that plays knows that when you score on the power play, you feel much better. You don't think about it that much. You're just making simple plays. It comes and it goes, so obviously that's huge and we've got to build on that."
Teams that take a 2-0 lead in a best-of-7 series are 342-54 (.864) all time, including 5-2 last season.
Here are 3 keys to Game 2:
