The Carolina Hurricanes' return to the Lenovo Center hit a snag on Tuesday night against the Vegas Golden Knights. The back-and-forth affair turned ugly in the final minutes, courtesy of Jack Eichel. Vegas handed the Canes their third loss of the season, 6-3. Andrei Svechnikov, Jordan Martinook, and Logan Stankoven provided the offense for the Hurricanes.
To top it off, Shayne Gostisbehere, who returned to the lineup on Tuesday, exited in the first period with a new ailment, forcing the defense to play a man down for two-thirds of the contest. With Jaccob Slavin and K'Andre Miller still out, the Canes' defense is back to where it was over the weekend, with no reinforcements, or sympathy from the league, in sight.
On the Other Side: New York Islanders
The 2024-25 season was a rough one for the New York Islanders. After qualifying for the playoffs and being outsted by the Canes in 2024, the Islanders fell short of the postseason a year ago, with injuries playing a major part in their story. Mathew Barzal played only 30 games, and most of their defensive group was out for long stretches of the season.
Regardless, the Islanders' fortunes changed a considerable amount when they won the draft lottery in May, jumping nine spots and drafting defenseman Matthew Schaefer with the first pick. Outside of their draft day deal to send Noah Dobson to the Canadiens, the rest of the offseason was relatively quiet, with new GM Mathieu Darche beginning a retool.
While the Islanders sit in the basement of the division points-wise, they're a .500 team during the early stages. After dropping their first three games in regulation, the Islanders won four in a row. They enter play on Thursday, like the Hurricanes, on a two-game slide, falling, 5-2, to the Boston Bruins on Tuesday.
Last season: All four meetings in 2024-25 were won by the home team, with the Canes owning a slight 5-4 edge in points with an OTL on Long Island. The season series featured a few games with massive momentum swings, while the only true blowout came courtesy of a 32-save shutout performance by Pyotr Kochetkov in mid-December, a 4-0 win for the Hurricanes.
Islanders to Watch
Matthew Schaefer: This feels like a no-brainer. Of course we're going to pay close attention to the top pick. The ESPN crew will probably be all over him, and for good reason. Schaefer hit the ground running, scoring points in his first six games. He has been held off the scoresheet in his last three games, though he's averaging over 23 minutes per game in his rookie season.
Bo Horvat: Every time the Hurricanes face Horvat, whether with the Canucks or the Islanders, it feels like he's making a difference. Last season, he recorded a goal and four assists in four meetings. Even in the shutout win for the Canes, Horvat managed four shots. He is rolling to start the season, leading the Islanders with six goals and 11 points.
Hurricanes to Watch
Alexander Nikishin: Coming off one of the busiest, and best, games of his young career, Nikishin is going head-to-head without another rookie defenseman who will likely draw more headlines. However, as we saw from his 27:33 performance on Tuesday, Nikishin deserves to be in the Calder conversation. He hasn't scored in five games, though his defensive work has improved mightily.
Seth Jarvis: After opening the season on a seven-game point streak, Jarvis has been a little quieter over the last two games, coming up scoreless in each. He was especially quiet on Tuesday, finishing with just two shots and zero hits in almost 19:30. Since meeting in the 2023 playoffs, Jarvis has seen success against the Islanders, including two goals and an assist in four meetings last year.