The Carolina Hurricanes are wrapping up October by taking on the New York Islanders at home on Thursday night (Oct. 30) at the Lenovo Center. It’ll be their first Metropolitan Division showdown since Oct. 11 against the Philadelphia Flyers. They’ve been dealing with some injuries and are on a two-game losing streak. How can the Hurricanes get back in the win column to end the first month of the season?
Hurricanes vs. Islanders Preview
The Hurricanes have been operating under the “next man up” mentality since the start of the season, but are still getting results. They’re still within four points of the division lead with a game in hand over the New Jersey Devils. Despite the back-to-back losses, the Hurricanes will look to finish up October with some much-needed points, especially within the division against the Islanders, who’ve also lost two straight. Here is where you can watch or listen to Thursday night’s game:
Watch: ESPN+ & Hulu
Listen: 99.9 The Fan (Mike Maniscalco & Tripp Tracy)
Puck Drop: 7:30 p.m. Eastern
Sebastian Aho, with the assist on Tuesday against the Vegas Golden Knights, increased his point streak to nine games to start the season. He’s currently tied for the team lead in points (11) with Seth Jarvis, who looks to get back to tallying some points of his own. Jarvis hasn’t recorded a point in two games after having a seven-game point streak to start the 2025-26 season. It’s not a massive concern, or any at all, because it’s been well established that Jarvis will start up another points run at will. Andrei Svechnikov against the Golden Knights not only snapped an eight-game pointless streak, but he also scored on the power play – a much-needed one as the team is currently 3-for-30 after nine games.
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The Hurricanes’ defense is without Shayne Gostisbehere once again, following his leaving the game on Tuesday after the first period. Rod Brind’Amour postgame stated it was a midsection injury. There was an update saying he won’t be out long-term, but it’s not day-to-day. On Wednesday, the team recalled Charles Alexis Legault from the Chicago Wolves after being gone for one game. In a subsequent move, they’ve also placed William Carrier on injured reserve, retroactive to Oct. 23.
All signs point to Frederik Andersen getting a second consecutive start for the Hurricanes on Thursday night after playing in Tuesday’s game. Brind’Amour stated after practice on Wednesday that while they don’t want to overwork Andersen, he has some time to rest between the road trip and the Golden Knights game. “The Great Dane” currently has a 4-2-0 record with a 3.11 goals-against average (GAA) and a .892 save percentage (SV%).
The Islanders are also looking to finish the first month of the season with a win, after losing two straight to the Boston Bruins and the Philadelphia Flyers. Despite being 4-4-1 on the season, Bo Horvat leads the team in goals (six) and points (11). Anders Lee and Mathew Barzal are tied for the team lead in assists (six), while Kyle Palmieri and first-overall pick Matthew Schaefer round out the top five in points with seven each.
The Islanders, when it comes to 5-on-5 play, are ninth in the NHL in goals for per game (3.56) and 26th in goals allowed (3.56). Compared to the Hurricanes, who are fourth in goals for (3.67) and 22nd in goals allowed (3.11), this could be an even matchup between the two sides in even-strength play. What could make this game interesting is, once again, the special teams. The Islanders enter the game with the 26th-ranked power play (15.6%) and the 24th penalty kill (71%). While on the other side, the Hurricanes are dead-last on the man-advantage (10%), but are 12th on the penalty kill (82.9%). The Islanders are more on a common ground between their power play and penalty kill; the Hurricanes could not be farther apart in that facet of their game.
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It’ll come down to which special teams win that battle because 5-on-5 play is much closer than it has been in recent seasons. Whoever wins that battle within the contest of the game has a better shot at claiming the win. However, the Islanders will have an interesting decision on their hands to go with either Ilya Sorokin in goal or David Rittich. Sorokin is 2-4-1 with a 3.75 GAA and a .868 SV%. Regarding Rittich, he has a 2-0-0 record with a 2.01 GAA and a .940 SV%. Head coach Patrick Roy has a big decision to make if he wants to get a divisional win to finish the month of October.
Both teams are in the midst of a two-game losing streak and looking for a win on Thursday night. It’ll come down to the special teams to help get each team an edge with 5-on-5 play being so close. It’ll also come down to the goaltending as Andersen will be facing either a struggling Sorokin or a solid start to the season from Rittich. Regarding the Hurricanes, they’ll have to dig deep again with their defense being down three regulars once again and relying on newer faces to the team. Can Tim Gleason get his guys ready for another tough contest on Thursday night? Only time will tell, as the Hurricanes and Islanders wrap up October with a Metropolitan Division showdown at the Lenovo Center in Raleigh.
