The Carolina Hurricanes are back in action for Game 5 tonight, as they host the New York Islanders with another opportunity to close out the series.
After pulling ahead 3-0, the Hurricanes jumped out to an early lead in Game 4, before losing the lead, then falling behind in the third period. While a late power play goal from Stefan Noesen did tie it once again, a double-overtime winner for the Islanders that redirected in off Mathew Barzal in-close extended the series.
Coming off a bit of a missed opportunity in Game 4, there’s a little bit of pressure on the Hurricanes to wrap up the series tonight. Lose on home ice, and Carolina is returning to New York for Game 6 without momentum on their side and all of a sudden, the series is a little too close for comfort.
Plus, the longer the series goes, arguably the further the Hurricanes also put themselves behind the eight ball, in the case they do get to the second round. With the New York Rangers having already wrapped up their first round series on Sunday, they could end up having a substantial break to rest ahead of the second round.
Scoring hasn’t been an issue for the Hurricanes thus far, with 13 goals in four games, and the team’s power play has been about as good as expected. They aren’t allowing a ton of quality chances or going through stretches where they get stuck in their own end for long periods. Frederik Andersen has also been about as good as you could’ve hoped for in net.
Yet something still feels a little off with Carolina to this point in the postseason. We saw how dominant the team can be following the trade deadline, and got a glimpse of this in the second half of Game 2, where they dominated the Islanders to climb back into the game to erase the three-goal deficit.
But it still seems as though through the four games, the Hurricanes have yet to really put together a full effort where they’re playing up to their ability. There have been flashes, but for a team that is arguably as strong as any other group in the league, Carolina hasn’t necessarily impressed thus far. They haven't been consistently able to wear down opponents on the forecheck like they're so often able to, and their offense looks a little less dynamic at 5-on-5 than usual. It could just be critical to say that after they jumped out to a 3-0 series lead, but they have yet to really put together a complete, standout game with a start-to-finish effort.
It looks like Carolina will start with some newer-looking lines, with Jordan Staal centering Teuvo Teravainen and Seth Jarvis, then using Jack Drury between Jordan Martinook and Martin Necas, and going with a fourth line of Kotkaniemi-Kuznetsov-Noesen (according to The Hockey News). We’ll see if it ends up being the difference-maker.
Puck drop is at 7:30 p.m.
OTHER ARTICLES FROM THE PLAYOFFS
- Hurricanes enter playoffs as a force in the East
- Takeaways from Hurricanes’ Game 1 win over Islanders
- Hurricanes hold all momentum after huge Game 2 comeback vs. Islanders
- Hurricanes take stranglehold on series with Game 3 win
Carolina Hurricanes Blogger • 
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