This isn’t a new movie, but rather a reboot. The Carolina Hurricanes (52-23-7) and New York Islanders (39-27-16) are facing off in the first round again. Game one of this series is in Carolina’s PNC Arena and is scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m. EDT on Saturday. During the regular season, the Hurricanes went 2-1-1 against the Islanders. However, that’s all out of the window now.
The Surging Carolina Hurricanes
Even as the odds-on favorites to win the Stanley Cup, Carolina had plenty of bumps during the regular season. At least for the 2023 portion. When the calendar flipped to 2024, the Hurricanes turned it on, closing the regular season with a 32-10-3 run. The Carolina Hurricanes had a points percentage above .700 in January, February, March, and April.
So, Carolina gets the home-ice advantage for round one after a 27-10-4 record in PNC Arena. Jesper Fast is the only player ruled out. This is a team that finished the regular season first in penalty killing and second on the power play. The Carolina Hurricanes allowed the fewest shots per game while attempting the third-most. They’re eighth in scoring and fourth in goals against.
Game one, at home, should be a full display of a complete hockey team.
An Amazing April for the New York Islanders
The Islanders were not supposed to get this far, especially not after a coaching change midseason. Yet, an 8-0-1 march through April has them as one of the scariest teams in contention right now. However, Long Island’s squad still has holes, notably an 18-17-6 away record (-14 goal differential) when pondering this game.
Defenseman Scott Mayfield is out for the season thanks to a late March injury, while Jean-Gabriel Pageau is questionable for this game. When examining the Islanders, it’s impossible to ignore that they have the NHL’s worst penalty-killing percentage. New York surrenders the fourth-most shots on goal per game, which helps to negate a top-10 save percentage.
Will the heater continue, or did the Islanders use all of their best hockey to get here?
What Happens in Game One?
Oddly, the past seven meetings between these clubs ended with the road team victorious. That probably ends tonight, as the Carolina Hurricanes are clearly the better team. The Islanders finished the regular season strong, but a lot of that success came against non-playoff teams at home. New York still has the NHL’s worst PK and a daunting task in front of them.
Don’t be surprised when the Carolina Hurricanes put on a show to open this series. They should win comfortably.
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Follow Andre on Twitter at @TowerTalkSports. You can also reach out to Andre Ifill via email at andre.ifill.jr@gmail.com. For Andre’s hockey talk, listen to this podcast every weekday. Andre also discusses the NFL, NBA, and MLB here. You can read and follow Andre’s betting picks at Winners and Whiners or read more of his stuff here on Total Apex Sports. He has spent years writing, talking, and picking sports professionally at the highest level.
