Rachel Barkley
The final one. After six gruelling months of a condensed schedule due to the Olympics, a schedule which would see three games in four days (with travel), the regular season comes to a close. With that last game, the Carolina Hurricanes will face the New York Islanders in UBS Arena.
The game is scheduled for 7:00 PM EDT.
In the Hurricanes’ last game, they clinched the top spot in the Eastern Conference as they acquired a point in the shootout loss to the Philadelphia Flyers. With the Flyers’ win, they clinched their own spot in the playoffs – third in the Metropolitan Division – and are the only matchup set in stone for the postseason, as they will play the Pittsburgh Penguins, who clinched second place in the division. You can read all about the game here!
However, an hour before the last game began, it was announced that two players had been recalled from the Hurricanes’ AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves: the goaltender long-believed to miss the entire season, and the Wolves’ top scorer.
After manning the crease for just three periods through two games in the AHL, Pyotr Kochetkov’s conditioning stint ended. Meanwhile, the two-way forward and playmaker, Felix Unger Sorum, may get his NHL debut in the upcoming game.
As for the Islanders, they have had a rough go of it. The day after the Hurricanes last game with them, they fired Patrick Roy from his role as head coach, bringing in the former Dallas Stars head coach, Peter Deboer, to fill the shoes behind the bench.
If that wasn’t enough of a blow, their playoff dreams slipped away in just 55 seconds in their last game, as the Montreal Canadiens became their nightmare in the second period. In the end, the Islanders scored a goal, but it just wasn’t enough. The momentum was claimed by the Canadiens, fueled by the chants of Olé, Olé, Olé by the visiting fans that filled UBS Arena. It was honestly really sad – and I don’t mean that sarcastically.
In the Crease
For Carolina, it isn’t certain who will be in net. However, there is a general hope that the man for the job will be the one who was just recalled Monday, Pyotr Kochetkov. In his time with the Wolves, he looked pretty sharp, but all the same, he did not play a full sixty minutes.
Per the usual tandem, Frederik Andersen would get the start. However, I wouldn’t be surprised in the least to see Kochetkov get the crease. This season, Kochetkov has a save percentage of .899, with a goals against average of 2.33 across a 6-2-0 record.
For the Islanders, they have relied heavily on Ilya Sorokin, who has started 54 of their 81 games. I imagine they will likely turn to him to close out with game no. 82. This season, he has a save percentage of .906, with a goals against average of 2.68 across a 29-24-2 record.
Expected Carolina Hurricanes Lines
Taylor Hall – Logan Stankoven – Jackson Blake
Nikolaj Ehlers – Jesperi Kotkaniemi – Bradly Nadeau
William Carrier – Mark Jankowski – Nicolas Deslauriers
Eric Robinson – Skyler Brind’Amour – Felix Unger Sorum
Defense
K’Andre Miller – Jalen Chatfield
Alexander Nikishin – Sean Walker
Mike Reilly – Charles-Alexis Legault
Goaltenders
Pyotr Kochetkov / Frederik Andersen
Expected New York Islanders Lines
Anders Lee – Bo Horvat – Simon Holmstrom
Brayden Schenn – Mathew Barzal – Calum Ritchie
Anthony Duclair – Jean-Gabriel Pageau – Emil Heineman
Kyle MacLean – Casey Cizikas – Marc Gatcomb
Defense
Matthew Schaefer – Ryan Pulock
Adam Pelech – Tony DeAngelo
Carson Soucy – Scott Mayfield
Goaltenders
Ilya Sorokin / David Rittich
Special Teams
Carolina Hurricanes power play: 25.0% (4th, up two spots from previous game)
Carolina Hurricanes penalty kill: 80.3% (11th)
New York Islanders power play: 16.7% (30th)
New York Islanders penalty kill: 80.8% (9th)
Hurricanes Game Notes
Due to practices being absent at this point in the season, and the frequent swapping of players, the Hurricanes’ lineup remains uncertain going into Tuesday’s game.
With the new CBA, the Hurricanes’ schedule will feature two additional regular-season games next season, and just four preseason games. This is expected to be the final 82-game season league-wide.
The last time the Hurricanes clinched the top spot in the Eastern Conference was the 2005-06 season.
How To Watch
TV: FanDuel Sports Network South
Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: 99.9 The Fan
