Hurricanes vs. Islanders Game 3 info & odds
When: Thursday, April 24, 7:30 p.m. ET
Where: UBS Arena, New York, N.Y.
How to watch: ESPN2, Sportsnet 360
Favorite: Hurricanes (-155 via Caesars)
In a series which should be 2-0 New York, the Islanders return home for game 3 tomorrow and look to right the ship. Ilya Sorokin will start for the New York Islanders in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference First Round against the Carolina Hurricanes at UBS Arena on Thursday.
"We knew we would have to use both goalies," Islanders coach Patrick Roy said Wednesday. "They are both sharp and Varlamov faced a lot of shots in the last game, so it would be good to have someone fresh tomorrow." Varlamov, who started the first two games of the best-of-7 series at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina, and seven of the final 11 games of the regular season.
Sorokin's last appearance was April 17, when he made 40 saves in a 5-4 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins, and he has played twice in the past 20 days. He went 25-19-12 with a 3.01 goals-against average, .909 save percentage and two shutouts in 56 games (55 starts), one season after he was a finalist for the Vezina Trophy given to the best goalie in the NHL. I was not impressed when I was in attendance for that April 17th game at UBS. Yea, it was the last game of the season, the playoff matchup was decided, some of the starters were resting, and the game was meaningless. However, it looked like Sorokin was just there to shake off any rust and see some shots, but lacked any energy, despite shutting down Sidney Crosby on a penalty shot.
I have finally gotten over Monday's catastrophe loss. A game in which the Islanders had a 3-0 lead and ended up losing 5-3, for the first time in their history and were out-attempted 110-28.
Why I think the Islanders will win tomorrow and get back in the series at 2-1. For starters, last years playoffs, they lost the first two games in Carolina and came home and won game 3, history repeats itself.
The Islanders should have won Game 2. Unfortunately, they could not hold onto a large lead. They collapsed down the stretch, and they allowed the Hurricanes to control the momentum and flow of this game. Now, they need their scorers to pick it up.
Lee now has one goal and one assist, including a tally on the powerplay. Also. Palmieri now has a goal after his conversion in Game 2. Casy Cizikas has one assist through the first two games.
Brock Nelson has been cold in this series. Somehow, he has not scored a goal or assists. Nelson also has produced mixed results in the faceoff circle, winning only 14 draws and losing 17. Therefore, he has to find a way to get things going. Jean-Gabriel Pageau has put an assist. However, his faceoff skills have been bad, as he has won six draws and lost 14.
The defense has collapsed completely in this series. So far, they have allowed 110 shot attempts. No one can win under those circumstances. The Islanders need to do better in closing shooting lanes.
The Islanders will cover the spread if they can find some scoring chances. Then, they need to tighten the defense and stop allowing so many chances.
The Islanders haven't been good in their road games this year so the home advantage really helped the Hurricanes win that game as they started to steal the momentum late, but the Islanders were a lot better on home ice this season with their 20-10-10 home record and they will be looking to play a really similar game as they did in game 2 but without the late collapse this time. The Islanders showed they can go toe-to-toe with the Hurricanes in game 2 and with the home advantage on their side this time around, they can definitely steal a game at home in this series. The best way to place a bet here is on the Islanders to win this game or even on the puckline to keep it close.
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