Islanders Back in Carolina For 1st Time Since Playoffs: 'You Kind Of Build Up That Hate'
RALEIGH, NC -- The New York Islanders are back in a familiar place Thursday evening.
The last time they hit the ice at PNC Arena was for Game 5 of their 2023 first-round series against the Carolina Hurricanes.
The Islanders failed to win the first two games of the series, splitting the next two on home ice as they headed back to Carolina with their backs against the wall down 3-1.
Pierre Engvall opened up the scoring halfway through the first before Brock Nelson doubled their lead a tad over three minutes into the second.
Despite allowing the Hurricanes to get on the board later in the middle frame via Paul Stastny, Mathew Barzal capped off the period with a goal to give the Islanders a 3-1 lead heading into the third.
Canes Sebastian Aho made it a one-goal game halfway through the final frame, but the Islanders held on to force a Game 6 on home ice.
The Islanders had a slim 1-0 lead courtesy of Cal Clutterbuck's goal in the first period in front of a sold-out Islanders faithful.
But New York went into a shell in the third period, where Aho again came through, knotting the score at 1-1 with under 10 minutes to play in regulation.
The game would head to overtime, where Stastny beat Ilya Sorokin, ending the Islanders season just like that, on a goal he surely wanted back.
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The Islanders welcomed the Hurricanes to UBS Arena on Nov. 4 for their first meeting of the 2023-24 season, a statement game, if you will after a long summer.
After scoring the game's first three goals, the Islanders failed to hold on, going into a shell, yet again, and allowing the Hurricanes to come all the way back before Aho won it in overtime, 4-3.
The Islanders and blowing leads have been the storyline so far this season, and after another blown lead in New Jersey on Tuesday night -- losing a 4-2 lead in the third before allowing the game-winning gaol with 23 seconds left in regulation -- Lane Lambert's squad is looking to rebound in front of a loud PNC crowd.
"I think we've played them so much over the last little bit. I wasn't here, but they played them in that series too," Noah Dobson said following Monday's practice. "Last year was a pretty hard-fought series. So we're definitely familiar with each other.
"Anytime you play a team in a playoff series, you kind of build up that hate, and that kind of tends to carry over at times, so it's gonna be a good test. It's always a tough game in there. So we'll be ready to go for that one."
The Islanders were swept by the Hurricanes in 2019 in the second round of the playoffs, the series Dobson was referring to.
"Obviously, they were who we matched up against in the playoffs last year," Kyle Palmieri said following Thursday's morning skate. "It's one of those things. We know it's going to be a good game. It's going to be hard. We're looking forward to the challenge."
The Hurricanes have been pretty solid to start the season, boasting a 13-8-0 record, which is second-best in the Metropolitan Division.
They may have new faces, as the Islanders saw earlier this year, but head coach Rod Brind'Amour demands a strong structure and a high shot count.
"It's a good team over there. They play fairly simple. They play hard. They get pucks in," Ryan Pulock said. "It's important that we do a good job breaking the puck out [...] It's a big game for us. We need to bounce back here. We are going up against a good team in a tough building. We need to bring our best."
