The New York Islanders face the Carolina Hurricanes in Game Five of the First Round. The Islanders lost Game Four and are one more loss away from being eliminated from the playoffs. The Hurricanes meanwhile have a 3-1 series lead and can advance to the Second Round with a win on their home ice in Game Five. The Islanders look to keep their season alive while the Hurricanes hope to secure the series victory on their home ice and the upcoming game should be a great one.
The Islanders have struggled in the First Round with their offense letting them down, scoring only 11 goals through four games. Brock Nelson, Kyle Palmieri, and Casey Cizikas have combined for four goals and five assists but the rest of the offense has struggled. The hope is that Bo Horvat and Anders Lee can step up in Game Five as they scored 35 goals and 31 assists this season but only two goals in this series.
The offense has struggled but the defense has stepped up, allowing only 12 goals in the series. Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock have led the top pairing while Scott Mayfield, Noah Dobson, and the rest of the defensive unit have stepped up as well, creating turnovers in the defensive zone and limiting shots on the net. Additionally, goaltender Ilya Sorokin has stepped up in this series, saving 121 of the 133 shots he's faced.