Stanley Cup Round 2 Preview: New York Islanders vs Carolina Hurricanes

Our New York Islanders vs Carolina Hurricanes preview looks at the potential outcome of this second-round matchup. This New York Islanders vs Carolina Hurricanes preview and series pick notes that the team on the isle finished their rout of the Pittsburgh Penguins in four games. Meanwhile the Hurricanes defeated the defending champion Washington Capitals in OT during game seven of their series. Our New York Islanders vs Carolina Hurricanes preview sees goaltending, the offense from Carolina’s defensemen, and the Islanders’ solid team play as factors that will decide this series between two Metropolitan Division teams.

New York Islanders vs Carolina Hurricanes Preview – Goaltending

The Islanders’ Robin Lehner has had a terrific year in goal. After finishing as a Vezina Trophy finalist, he continued his strong play against Pittsburgh. The Swedish netminder was a wall in round one leading all goaltenders with a .952 save percentage and a 1.47 GAA. Lehner didn’t face the Hurricanes at all this season, but he should be expected to keep the Islanders in every game.

Lehner will face off against Petr Mrazek. Mrazek had a solid first round as well, making many big saves against Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals. Despite this, his stat-line was not extremely impressive. He has the lowest save percentage out of any goaltender to move onto round two. Mrazek finished with a .899 save percentage and a 2.54 GAA. The netminder faced the Islanders twice this season stopping 36 of 40 shots.

Islanders’ Sweep

The Islanders played a very solid game against Pittsburgh in the opening round. They did a great job of capitalizing on the chances they had. While they allowed a decent amount of scoring chances during the series, they were able to generate plenty of their own. New York averaged 32.38 scoring chances per game which was the third best in the opening round. Their offence was paced by Jordan Eberle who had four goals and two assists. His linemates Mathew Barzal and Anders Lee also produced. Barzal is yet to score in the playoffs but he has five assists. Lee had three points in round one. Josh Bailey (3-1-4), Valtteri Filppula, and Brock Nelson (0-3-3) all had decent offensive performances as well.

The Islanders biggest weakness is likely their blueline. While all of their D-men had plus-minus ratings of zero or better during the first round, they lack and stars at the position. Ryan Pulock led the Islanders’ blueline in time on ice playing 22:55 a night. Adan Pelech led the defensmen in points with 2 assists. New York tends to utilize all of their blueliners fairly evenly and will likely do so against Carolina.

Carolina’s Blueline Driven Offense

The Hurricanes did a great job of battling back against the defending champs. After dropping the first two games of the series they evened things up on home ice. They are yet to lose at home during these playoffs, and will look to put a lot of rubber on the Islanders’ net. In the first round they averaged the 33.4 shots a night. They were able to drive a lot of their offense from their backend. Defenseman Jaccob Slavin led the team in points with nine assists while playing almost 27 minutes a game. Dougie Hamilton had three goals and six points. Brett Pesce (0-3-3) and Justin Faulk (0-3-3) also registered points.

Up front Warren Foegele had a great series. He wasn’t afraid to throw the body around and led the team with four goals. The club’s top two centers also played well. Sebastian Aho had five points while Jordan Stall had six. An ex-factor if this series goes the distance will be Justin Williams. The ‘Canes captain has garnered the nickname “Mr. Game seven” because of his record of the most points in game sevens by any player. He recorded an assist on the overtime winner in the final game against Washington.

New York Islanders vs Carolina Hurricanes Preview

We see this series as being close and low scoring. Robin Lehner has been a brick wall this season. While the Hurricanes take plenty of shots, Lehner will be expected to stop most of them. Our New York Islanders vs Carolina Hurricanes preview likes the Islanders in this matchup because of Lehner as well as their ability to capitalize. Look for the Islanders to take the series although the ‘Canes will put up a fight.

New York Islanders vs Carolina Hurricanes Preview

New York Islanders over the Carolina Hurricanes in 7 games