The Carolina Hurricanes have had a chore in terms of figuring out who’s going to make the biggest impact in games.
But having flexibility with the lineup has worked out well.
Carolina meets its third straight Metropolitan Division foe when the New York Islanders visit for Thursday night’s game in Raleigh, N.C.
The Hurricanes have won two games in a row, beginning with Sunday’s comeback vs. the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The Islanders are facing a two-game skid following three consecutive victories. They’re trying to sidestep a trend from earlier in the month, when they lost seven games in a row.
Avoiding penalties could be the key for the Islanders.
“That’s our kryptonite right now,” New York center Bo Horvat said. “We could easily have a lot of these games and our record could be a lot better if we just stay out of the box and get kills at the right time.”
Carolina’s 4-1 victory on Tuesday night at Philadelphia came with the unexpected absence of winger Andrei Svechnikov, who scored his first goal of the season Sunday but was listed out with an illness.
The Hurricanes were fortunate to have Brendan Lemieux and Michael Bunting ready for extra duty.
“(Lemieux) got a goal, got rewarded for it, but they had good zone time and created a lot of havoc down there,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “They certainly did their job.
“We moved (Bunting) up and he cashed in with a goal and I thought he was good, too. He was noticeable. That’s what you want when you’re playing with the top guys.”
When role players come through and adjust to their spots, it tends to work out well. That makes Lemieux pleased to pitch in.
“I’m just happy to be here, around this group,” he said. “It’s a really good, deep group that I want to help contribute to later in the season and in the playoffs. So, if it means sitting out games and waiting for my chance, then so be it.
“I’m going to try to push the group and give everybody a laugh off the ice and enjoy my time contributing and being a depth guy.”
Bunting, in his first season with Carolina, was glad to show his versatility.
“That’s my game,” he said. “I can play anywhere in the lineup and I’m very confident wherever I am.”
The Hurricanes overcame a 3-0 deficit in an eventual 4-3 overtime triumph on Nov. 4 on the road vs. the Islanders. Sebastian Aho posted the winning goal.
While the Hurricanes have gone through uncertainty with goaltending, the Islanders have different types of options.
They’ve mostly relied on Ilya Sorokin, who has played in 14 games. Yet Semyon Varlamov, who has appeared seven times, ranks fifth in the NHL in goals-against average with a 2.30 mark.
Sorokin blanked the Flyers through overtime in an eventual shootout loss on Saturday and then was torched for five goals on 33 shots by the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night.
“Just mistakes that we made,” Islanders coach Lane Lambert said, pointing to unnecessary penalties as a problem. “We have to be better.”
With Sorokin in net in road games this season, New York’s lone victory in five outings came in a shootout. Sorokin took the loss in the home overtime setback to Carolina.
–Field Level Media
