By Gianna Forbis, WRAL reporter

New York Islanders	1
Carolina Hurricanes	3
Final

Raleigh, N.C. — Welcome to ‘Causing Chaos,’ part one of the Carolina Hurricanes tonight. With a 3-1 win over the New York Islanders, the Canes are rocking – and learning good things come in three.

Three goal scorers.

Third Period Fireworks.

Three Power Plays.

Power of the Plays

In the first period, Canes center Evegeny Kutznetsov brought the chaos with twelve seconds into a Canes power play, delivering a wrist shot goal. Assists by Martin Necas and Brady Skjei brought the canes up 1-0 in the first.

It was not long until the New York Islanders answered back at 11:40 in the first, center Kyle MacLean brings the heat on Frederick Andersen and ties it up in PNC Arena. Assists by Anders Lee and Alexander Romanov even it up at the end of the first.

With two power plays, one for each team, Canes were able to kill the Islanders power play after a high sticking penalty early on by winger Andre Svechnikov.

In the second, the Canes got a power play early after a delay of game from Islanders winger Matt Martin. A close firing puck by Andre Svechnikov would have been the Canes second power play goal, but the Islanders got the penalty kill.

Play Makers and Savers

Even though the Canes went seven and a half minutes without a shot in the first period, and certainly under performed in the second period – the third period had PNC arena buzzing.

An early goal by winger Stefan Noesen with assists by Brady Skjei and Evgeny Kuznetsov sparked a drive early for the Canes to gain momentum and keep the power on their side.

Noesen did cost a penalty in a high-sticking call against Islanders Mike Reilly, but New York gave the power play right back to the Canes after a Kyle Palmieri minor.

Canes goaltender Frederick Andersen made a statement in the first game tonight after missing much of the season, with 25 shots against him and a save percentage of .920, his elusiveness saved a lot of shots from New York.

Carolina gave some trouble to Islanders goalie, Semyon Varlamov with the moving screen, executing well in front of the net. Tracking the puck in front of the box has been an advantage for the Canes and they continue to make a way when people don’t think there is one.

Up Next:

Game 2 of the series begins on April 22, at 7:30 p.m. at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Carolina Hurricanes lead the series 1-0.

Preview:

The Carolina Hurricanes are headed to the playoffs for the sixth straight season and attempting to win what’s arguably the hardest trophy to acquire in professional sports.

The Hurricanes defeated the Detroit Red Wings 4-0 on March 29 to clinch a playoff berth and ensure another season of playoff hockey at PNC Arena. The team’s motto this season has been ‘Cause Chaos,’ and they’ve held themselves to that mantra, going 27-11 during January, February and March. The acquisition of Jake Guentzel at the trade deadline has paid off, and 24-year-old goalie Pyotr Kochetkov blossomed in the absence of Frederik Andersen, who has played well in his own right after returning from a blood clotting issue.

“Pretty good regular season, but all that did was get you to this point,” said Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour. “And we understand that. Everyone starts from scratch. Now we gotta go have another good season.”

With a talented core group of players and successful regular seasons, the Hurricanes have had Stanley Cup aspirations since coach Brind’Amour took over. They haven’t reached the finals since 2006, but enter the postseason as favorites in Vegas. Currently, OddsShark has Carolina with the best odds of winning at +650, edging Edmonton (+700) and Dallas (+750).

The Hurricanes reached the Eastern Conference Final last season, but were swept by the Florida Panthers during a masterful performance from goalie Sergei Bobrovsky.

The Hurricanes have won one Stanley Cup – in 2006 when they were the eastern conference’s No. 2 seed. Entering that postseason, they were not viewed as favorites, with the juggernaut Detroit Red Wings winning the Presidents’ Trophy and the Ottawa Senators earning the top seed in the east. In the finals, the Hurricanes outlasted the Edmonton Oilers in seven games, taking a 3-1 series lead and winning a dramatic Game 7 on home ice. Goalie Cam Ward won the Conn Smythe Trophy, which is awarded to the most valuable player during the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and Eric Staal was the postseason scoring leader with 28 points.

Carolina Hurricanes leaders in 2023-24 season

A look at who’s guided the Hurricanes back to the playoffs.

• Sebastian Aho (89 points, 36 goals, 53 assists)
• Jake Guentzel (77 points, 30 goals, 47 assists with Penguins and Hurricanes)
• Seth Jarvis (67 points, 33 goals, 34 assists)
• Martin Nečas (53 points, 24 goals, 29 assists)
• Andrei Svechnikov (52 points, 19 goals, 33 assists)
• Teuvo Teräväinen (53 points, 25 goals, 28 assists)

In net, Kochetkov got the most time with Andersen missing much of the season. Kochetkov played in 42 games and holds a 23-13 record with a .911 save percentage.

“The longer I do this, the more I realize you really just have to get your team ready to play your game,” Brind’Amour said. “If you’re worrying too much about all the stuff that might happen you lose sight of what you got to do.”

Who do the Hurricanes play in the NHL playoffs first round?

This season’s playoffs begin Saturday, April 20. The Hurricanes will face the New York Islanders in the first round for the second straight year. The Hurricanes defeated the Islanders in six games in last year’s first-round series, with Paul Stastny’s overtime goal in Game 6 giving Carolina a 2-1 win.

This season, the Hurricanes went 2-2 against the Islanders during the regular season. The Hurricanes won 4-3 in overtime on Nov. 4, and 4-1 on March 19. The Islanders won 5-4 in overtime on Nov. 30, and 5-4 on Dec. 23. The Islanders hired legendary goalie Patrick Roy as head coach on Jan. 20 and are hot, having won seven of eight games as of Wednesday with one game left in the regular season.

“He’s got them playing really well,” Brind’Amour said of Roy. “I don’t know there’s a ton of differences in the lineups necessarily but their mindset and the way they play as a group and you can see that.”

Brind’Amour said forward Jesper Fast will miss Game 1 with a neck strain.

“Until he gets in a practice, you can pretty much rule him out,” Brind’Amour said. Fast, who scored six goals and played 73 games during the regular season, didn’t practice Friday.

In 2019, the Hurricanes swept the Islanders in the second round.

What is the first-round playoff schedule?

Game 1 between the Hurricanes and Islanders is set for Saturday, April 20, at 5 p.m. Here’s a look at the complete first-round schedule. The Hurricanes will host games 1 and 2 at home and potentially games 5 and 7.

• Game 1: Saturday, April 20, 5 p.m., PNC Arena (TBS/truTV/Bally Sports South)
• Game 2: Monday, April 22, 7:30 p.m., PNC Arena (ESPN 2)
• Game 3: Thursday, April 25, 7:30 p.m., UBS Arena (ESPN 2)
• Game 4: Saturday, April 27, 2 p.m., UBS Arena (TBS/truTV)
• Game 5: Tuesday, April 30, PNC Arena, TBD (if necessary)
• Game 6: Thursday, May 2, UBS Arena, TBD (if necessary)
• Game 7: Saturday, May 4, PNC Arena, TBD (if necessary)

The playoffs will be televised on ESPN, ABC, TNT and TBS.

Can the Canes snap the eastern conference slide?

Should they reach the Eastern Conference Final, the Hurricanes will be looking to snap a 12-game losing skid dating back to 2009. The Hurricanes were swept in the eastern final in 2009, 2019 and 2023.

A look at Hurricanes’ playoff stats

Stanley Cups: 1 (2006)

Prior NHL playoff appearances: 10

• 1998-1999: Lost in eastern conference quarterfinal to Boston 4-2
• 2000-2001: Lost in eastern conference quarterfinal to New Jersey 4-2
• 2001-2002: Lost in Stanley Cup final to Detroit 4-1
• 2005-2006: Won Stanley Cup final against Edmonton 4-3
• 2008-2009: Lost eastern conference final to Pittsburgh 4-0
• 2018-2019: Lost eastern conference final to Boston 4-0
• 2019-2020: Lost first round to Boston 4-1
• 2020-2021: Lost eastern conference semifinal to Tampa 4-1
• 2021-2022: Lost eastern conference semifinal to New York 4-3
• 2022-2023: Lost eastern conference final to Florida 4-0

Playoff record since 1997: 73-68

2024 record: 52-23-7, 111 points – finished second place in Metropolitan Division. The Hurricanes crossed the 100-point threshold for three straight regular seasons.

Coach: Rod Brind’Amour

• Coaching record: 278-130-44 overall | 32-21 in the playoffs

Source: wralsportsfan.com