Hurricanes defeat Islanders, 4-2

The Islanders will part ways for this weekend's All-Star break in Raleigh, N.C. Some are planning a getaway to Vermont, a few are attending a friend's wedding in Montreal and a handful are heading home.

But last night's 4-2 loss to Carolina, before a crowd of only 4,976, will give them plenty to reflect upon during their brief respite. About what has happened during the past four months and what needs to happen to turn around a tumultuous season in the 32 games remaining. "The message is, 'Enjoy your break, but when we get back, it's back to business,'" coach Jack Capuano said. "We're not going to keep losing games and reward guys who shouldn't be rewarded."

One issue the Islanders must address once they reconvene is the poor starts that have dogged them the past month.

For the 11th time in 12 games, the Islanders gave up the first goal, when Hurricanes winger Zach Boychuk beat Rick DiPietro at 14:43 of the first.

Austrian winger Michael Grabner, who will represent the Islanders as a rookie in the All-Star Game skills competition, tied it with a pretty backhander 31 seconds into the second period. However, All-Star captain Eric Staal tallied twice in the second for a 3-1 Hurricanes lead.

Defenseman Andrew MacDonald dove to block a pass on a Carolina rush, only to tip the puck to Staal for his first of the period at 5:55. His 25th goal came after redirecting Joe Corvo's drive from the blue line at 7:23. Brandon Sutter piled on for a 4-1 lead at 15:05 in the third, and MacDonald scored for the Isles with 1:21 left.

DiPietro gave up four goals on 31 shots in his first game against the Canes since a 7-2 blowout Nov. 3.

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"In this league the difference between winning and losing is so small," DiPietro said. "We have to have that ingrained in our memory."

Much has changed from that Nov. 3 eyesore, arguably the team's ugliest loss this season.

Most notably, the coach.

Since replacing Scott Gordon in November, Capuano has a record of 11-16-4. But although the Islanders have responded well to Capuano, the team has not entirely shed the problems that led to Gordon's dismissal.

"I can't fault the effort," Capuano said before the game. "We've made some mistakes, but the effort has been there for the most part."

They lead the league with 314 man-games lost, with significant injuries to defensemen Mark Streit, Mark Eaton, Mike Mottau, and Milan Jurcina.

Several other veterans are missing as well. Captain Doug Weight has been sidelined by a back injury virtually the whole season. James Wisniewski and Dwayne Roloson have been traded. Jon Sim left to play in Switzerland.

And the lack of continuity in goal has persisted. Roloson and DiPietro began the season as the tandem in net, now rookies Nathan Lawson and Kevin Poulin have been added (Lawson is out 1-2 weeks with a left knee injury, however).

That leaves a lot of the work ahead for the young nucleus of John Tavares, Kyle Okposo, Josh Bailey, Frans Nielsen and MacDonald. "I just want to see us challenge each team we play every night," said Tavares, who leads the team with 18 goals. "Really gain an identity for ourselves and what type of hockey team we're going to be now and in the future."