RALEIGH, N.C. — The final time the Islanders performed at what’s now Lenovo Heart, their night time led to Sport 5 of the primary spherical, when their 2023-24 season got here to a forgettable shut.
It’s becoming, then, that upon their return, they’re hoping Tuesday would be the day that their 2024-25 marketing campaign really will get going towards the Hurricanes.
It’s not clear whether or not this match towards Carolina will convey with it Anthony Duclair’s long-awaited return from a suspected groin harm, or whether or not Bo Horvat will return to the lineup after lacking Sunday’s recreation, however pulling themselves again to NHL .500 and, doubtlessly, right into a playoff spot would get the Isles again on observe after a messy loss Sunday.
With Mathew Barzal and Adam Pelech now again within the lineup, the justifications are beginning to run brief.
Sunday made it seven video games in a row by which the Islanders have given up the primary purpose, with sluggish begins having change into a veritable pattern.
Tuesday can be an excellent time to make a first-period assertion.
“We just need to pop the first one. I think it’s as simple as that,” Anders Lee stated postgame Sunday. “The other team’s gotten the first one of late. It feels like we’re on our heels. We just gotta go out there and go after that first one right away.”
Whether or not it’s the primary or third interval, the shortcoming to play a full 60 has been a relentless all year long for the Islanders, and goes a good distance in explaining why they’re at present under NHL .500 and on the surface of the playoff cutline.
In opposition to a high-end offensive crew just like the Hurricanes, the Islanders can’t get away with any of the lapses which have plagued them just lately.
“I thought we got better throughout the game,” Lee stated of the loss in Chicago. “But we gotta go after this thing right from the hop.”
The Islanders went undefeated in Raleigh within the common season final yr however misplaced all three video games right here within the playoffs.
Sunday was the ninth time in membership historical past that the Islanders dressed eight gamers with 500 or extra video games for the crew, however the first time since Jan. 2, 1986, per crew statistician Eric Hornick.
The Islanders didn’t follow Monday.
