Game 4 win gives Islanders a little momentum for next elimination game vs. Hurricanes
Mathew Barzal celebrates his winning goal in Game 4 against the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Patrick Roy subscribes to momentum within the confines of a playoff series.
His season-on-the-brink Islanders certainly will need some for Tuesday night’s Game 5 against the Hurricanes in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Islanders avoided elimination Saturday with a 3-2 double-overtime win at UBS Arena after having varying degrees of chances of winning in each of the first three games of the first-round series but falling short.
“I do believe in momentum,” Roy said on a video conference call on Sunday as the Islanders did not practice. “Still the focus is the same. It’s focusing on how we want to play on Tuesday night, and I think that’s the key. Just let it grow by itself. But be ready, like the guys did yesterday. They played so well.
“So it’s important to keep the same mindset going into the game. Now it’s deja vu for them. Last year, we were down 3-1 and they went to Carolina and won the game. So I’m hoping we can repeat that.”
It’s true that the Islanders trailed the Hurricanes 3-1 in the first round last season before winning Game 5 at PNC Arena after losing Games 1 and 2 on the road, as they did in this series. But last season, the Lane Lambert-coached Islanders lost Game 4 at UBS Arena, 5-2, and did not necessarily head south with the same amount of confidence they might be feeling now.
And, of course, the Hurricanes eliminated the Islanders in six games last season.
“I don’t know if we’re necessarily drawing on anything,” said Mathew Barzal, who scored twice in Game 4, including the winner, in a dominant performance that was his best of the series. “I feel like this is a new season. There’s a bit of a different energy.”
The Islanders will practice on Monday at Northwell Health Ice Center in East Meadow before returning to Raleigh.
It will be telling whether Matt Martin (lower body, day-to-day) is able to skate after being sidelined in Game 4, snapping his streak of 82 consecutive playoff appearances with the Islanders dating to 2013.
And, no doubt, there will be continued work on the special teams after the Hurricanes went 2-for-4 on the power play in Game 4, giving them four goals on 14 man-advantage chances in the series. The Hurricanes’ power play was ranked second in the NHL during the regular season.
The Islanders are 2-for-7 on the power play against the Hurricanes, whose penalty kill ranked first during the regular season and has been lauded by Roy for its aggressiveness.
“That’s the way they’ve been playing all year,” he said. “Us, we’ve been jumping from aggressive [to] a little passive.”
Seth Jarvis opened the scoring in Game 4 with a first-period power-play goal, getting to the crease to knock in the puck after Islanders defenseman Ryan Pulock could not swipe away the rebound of defenseman Brent Burns’ initial shot. Stefan Noesen’s power-play goal tied the score at 2 at 14:08 of the third period as he skated by the crease and redirected Teuvo Teravainen’s feed.
“The first goal, in my opinion, was bad luck,” Roy said. “They took a shot, it was Pully who tried to clear it on the side and instead of clearing on the side, it went straight on Jarvis’ stick and went in. The second one, they made a really nice play.”
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
