Carolina Hurricanes: Three Keys to SWEEP the New York Islanders

The Carolina Hurricanes defeated the New York Islanders 5-2 to put the Islanders on the edge with a 3-0 series lead and with Game 4 in their barn to end it all. The Hurricanes can punch their ticket to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since the last time they went to the playoffs in 2009.

Game 4 was a back-and-forth thrill ride between the Carolina Hurricanes scoring to take the lead and the New York Islanders tying the game back up. In the first period, the Hurricanes struck first with a tally from Teuvo Teravainen, with assists from Carolina’s back-end, Jaccob Slavin and Dougie Hamilton.

The Islanders struck right back and made Carolina pay for a penalty, with Devon Toews putting home a goal to tie things up on the Islanders power play. Carolina outshot New York 11-10.

The second period saw the Hurricanes go on the penalty-kill again with Justin Faulk in the box for hooking. With a nice penalty-kill, a continued improvement from the second penalty-kill in the first period, the Hurricanes got even and was able to get Faulk on the breakaway, right from the box, and scoring a highlight reel goal to give the lead back.

Josh Bailey however would score right back to tie things up with an excellent shot from a bad turnover and once again, the period would end tied.

The third period saw the Hurricanes take control of this game, as they usually do in third periods. Justin Williams would give the Hurricanes the lead after Sebastian Aho‘s incredible hand-eye skills, knocking a pass down from goalie Robin Lehner allowing for a nice set-up.

The Hurricanes played with intensity and won races to the puck, destroying the Islanders’ momentum and urgency to win. Teravainen would score an empty-netter and Aho would join in on the fun with an empty-netter, as well.

The Hurricanes have gotten on the better end of three games so far. In Game 1, they stun the hockey world once again with an overtime winner. In Game 2, they flip New York upside down and stealing a win with two goals to not just tie the game up but also take the lead to go home in Raleigh with two wins.

In Game 3, they’ve hyped this Raleigh crowd up and got the needed home win to make this series go 3-0 Hurricanes. They can end the series now, to move on to the Eastern Conference Finals, to fight for champions of the East, and we all know what’s after that. What do they need to do?

2. Special Team Consistency

In Game 1, both the Islanders and Hurricanes were excellent on the penalty-kill, both teams killing off four penalties. But what does that mean for the powerplays for both teams? Oh, it means that they both nothing out of their powerplays in terms of the scoreboard, perhaps momentum but nothing to show for it but for mostly a stalemate for most of the game.

Although Game 1 shows that both teams need to work on their powerplay, the Islanders are the only team who has improved on special teams in both categories. The Hurricanes have went backward, but their even-strength performance has been enough in the last three games. But for how long?

Game 2, the Islanders scored once out of two powerplays and shut down the Hurricanes powerplay three times.

In Game 3, the Islanders struck once on the powerplay and failed on their last two attempts. A common trend has been the Islanders scoring their first tallies of the game with the powerplay and that tends to be the only effective one, as the Hurricanes start stepping up more in the later parts of the game. The Hurricanes need to be consistent.

The Islanders are trying everything to stay alive and continuing their penalty-kill perfection which has allowed no goals and their improving powerplay to be consistent is something the Hurricanes need to build consistency on, it’s a pure battle of eagerness and desire to win. Both teams are looking for the same thing on the penalty-kill and powerplay, don’t let them score and go score your own.

Outwork them, plain and simple… speaking of which, the third key.

3. Play Hard, Earn It

After Williams scored to give the Hurricanes the lead in the third period of Game 3, the Hurricanes went berzerk and seemed to dominate every area of play. The Islanders couldn’t even enter the zone and when they did, it didn’t last long. The Hurricanes brought energy that led to winning chases to the puck and gaining possession to get chances on Lehner.

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The Hurricanes need to leave it all on the line, give their team a needed rest to recover all the injuries, prepare for the Eastern Conference Finals, against either the juggernaut Boston Bruins or the underrated Columbus Blue Jackets.

Whichever team it is, if the Hurricanes win this in Game 4 or 5, they will at least have more rest than their counterparts in the next round. The Hurricanes can go to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second postseason appearance in a row.

The Islanders are on the ropes and what to expect is a lot more defensive breakdowns but more offensive desperation from them. The Hurricanes should look to play a tight defensive game and play a punishing offensive game and the chemistry should mold well. Unlike Games 1 and 2, Game 4 will be similar to Game 3, there is likely to be a good amount of goals.

The New York Islanders are fighting for survival, fighting for a breath. The Hurricanes need to drown their energy, the crowd will deafen their ears, and the Islanders’ vision for the Cup needs to be blinded. Let’s not have a Game 5, let us enjoy Game of Thrones on Sunday while celebrating the Hurricanes going on to the Conference Finals.

Question for CC Readers: Do you think the Hurricanes will sweep the Islanders? Why or why not?