Isles, ’Canes reunite to open the NHL playoffs

Raleigh, N.C. — The Carolina Hurricanes and the New York Islanders are getting another postseason reunion.

The teams are meeting in the first round of the NHL playoffs for the second straight season, and this marks the third time the teams will meet in six postseasons. The Hurricanes won both previous matchups, including a six-game series in last year's first round.

The Hurricanes are the favorite to win the Stanley Cup, according to Bet MGM Sportsbook, as they enter today's Game 1 at home in this bestof-7 series. Carolina is in the playoffs for the sixth time in as many seasons under Rod Brind'Amour, continuing a multi-year push for the Cup that has twice ended in the Eastern Conference Final.

“The consistency's been great but now we've got to take that next step,” team president and general manager Don Waddell said Friday.

The teams both enter after late-season surges, though the stakes were very different.

Carolina had the league's second-best record in terms of points percentage (.775), trailing only Dallas (.778), since the March 8 trade deadline and clinched a playoff spot weeks ago to turn its final games into a chase for postseason positioning.

“We've got a team we believe can win it all,” Carolina captain Jordan Staal said, adding: “It's just a matter of pushing through and find a way.”

The Islanders, meanwhile, won eight of their last nine to clinch a playoff spot Monday. That came after an up-and-down season that led to a January coaching change (firing Lane Lambert to hire Patrick Roy) and included a six-game skid as recently as mid-March.

“The whole goal is to be playing your best hockey at the right time and we're putting things together here, to continue to build off of a foundation that's putting ourselves in a position

every night to win,” Islanders captain Anders Lee said.

Healthy Canes

The Hurricanes are largely healthy, a big change from the past two years.

Forward Jesper Fast didn't practice Thursday or Friday due to what Waddell described as a neck strain, an injury he has dealt with previously. Fast was knocked from Tuesday's loss at Columbus in the regular-season finale.

Brind'Amour ruled Fast out for Game 1, though Waddell said he thought it was “just a matter of days at this point” before Fast can return.

Overall, though, Carolina isn't dealing with a major injury like top goaltender Frederik Andersen missing the 2022 playoffs due to a late-season lower-body injury or physical forward Andrei Svechnikov missing last year's postseason due to a knee injury.

Svechnikov is back after tallying 52 points (19 goals) in 59 regular-season games.

“I've been waiting for this moment for a long time,” Svechnikov said, adding: “I'm excited and can't wait, I've got goosebumps thinking about it.”

In net

The Islanders have a strong goalie tandem with Ilya Sorokin (25-19-12, 3.01 goals-against average, .909 save percentage) and Semyon Varlamov (14-8-4, 2.60, .918).

Sorokin lost six straight starts before going 3-0-1 during the Islanders' key late-season push. Varlamov was especially stellar during that same stretch, going 8-1-1 with a 2.08 GAA over his last 10 starts.

“Both our goalies have played incredibly well down the stretch and they're the reason we're gearing ourselves up for a playoff,” forward Kyle Palmieri said.