Can the New York Islanders upset the Carolina Hurricanes?

After just barely clinching the playoffs, the New York Islanders and Islanders fans from around the world are confident in their ability to make it to the second round and upset the number two ranked Carolina Hurricanes. Though hopes are high, this article will dig in to see if a win is statistically likely, or even probable for the Islanders.

This season, the Islanders played the Hurricanes four times and only won one of three of these contests. On Oct 28, 2022, the Islanders won against the Hurricanes 6-2, marking their only win against this powerful team. The other three games and Islanders’ losses had final scores of 0-3 on Dec 10, 2022; 2-5 on Jan 21, 2023; and 1-2 on Apr 2, 2023. While the Islanders lost the last three of these contests, I don’t think that is any reason to count them out now.

One main place where the Hurricanes are at a disadvantage is the loss of superstar Andrei Svechnikov. Svechnikov, who had 23 goals and 32 assists for a total of 55 points, is now out indefinitely with a torn ACL. Svechnikov still holds fourth place on his team for total points, third for total goals, and third for assists. This shows that he is a very important asset that still holds these places, even with 18 fewer games than the rest of his teammates.

Conversely, the Islanders, who have been missing their star player, Mat Barzal, are in luck as he is scheduled to start in game one against the Hurricanes after being injured for the last 20 games. Barzal will be an important asset to the team, as he currently has 14 goals and 31 assists for a total of 51 points in only 58 games played this season. Much like Svechnikov, Barzal sits in second place for the team in total points, and second in assists, even after missing 24 more games than his teammates this season.

Goaltending is also a reason why the Islanders may come up on top. Ilya Sorokin is the Islanders’ starting goalie and is having an amazing year, as always. Sorokin is currently first in the league for shutouts with six, third in the league for save percentage with a SV% of .924, and sixth in the league for goals against average with 2.34 in his 37 games played.

For the Hurricanes, their starting goalie is Frederik Anderson, who currently has a save percentage of .903, a goals-against average of 2.48, and one shutout this season in his 34 games played. The goaltending mismatch could be somewhere the Islanders can take advantage.

Overall, this series is definitely one to watch, but only time will tell who will take series one; the expected Carolina Hurricanes, or the Underdog New York Islanders.