The New York Islanders face the Carolina Hurricanes with both teams looking to improve in the Metropolitan Division. The Islanders have a 3-4 record and snapped a three-game losing streak with their recent win. The Hurricanes meanwhile have a 4-1-1 record and hold the best record in the Metropolitan Division. Both teams are looking to improve in the Eastern Conference and look to start the season strong and the upcoming game should be a great one as a result.
The Islanders have had a rocky start to their season despite their offense stepping up and scoring 3.14 goals per game. Anders Lee, Mathew Barzal, and Brock Nelson have scored four goals and 16 assists to lead the top two lines but the rest of the offense has also looked strong this season. Oliver Wahlstrom, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, and Anthony Beauvillier have combined for five goals and five assists while defensemen Noah Dobson and Adam Pelech have added two goals and seven assists from the blue line to help open up the offense.
The offense has stepped up but the defense has carried the Islanders to start the season, allowing only 2.57 goals per game including a shutout in their recent game. Ryan Pulock and Adam Pelech have combined for 1.1 defensive point shares and 20 blocked shots to lead the top line but the rest of the unit has also stepped up with Noah Dobson, Alexander Romanov, and the rest of the defensive creating turnovers in the defensive zone and limiting shots on the net. Moreover, goaltender Ilya Sorokin has been great in the net with a .931 save percentage and a 2.26 goals-against average on 160 shots.