Islanders focused on just 1 win against Hurricanes in East 1st Round

Improved special teams will be key for New York, which trails 3-1 heading into Game 5

EAST MEADOW, N.Y. -- The New York Islanders head into Game 5 of the Eastern Conference First Round against the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; ESPN, SNE, SNO, SNP, TVAS, BSSO, MSG, MSGSN) with a singular purpose.

Trailing 3-1 in the best-of-7 series, the Islanders need a win to stay alive and force Game 6 at home Friday. They'll worry about what comes next after that.

"In the playoffs you need to win games on the road, and we have a great opportunity," Islanders forward Jean-Gabriel Pageau said. "We win this game and we go from there. That's our main focus, one game at a time. It's been all year long in that playoff push and in the playoffs, so it's not going to change today.

"Our main focus is the next game, play the best as we can so we don't have no regrets and go from there."

New York faces long odds. Teams trailing 3-1 in a best-of-7 Stanley Cup Playoff series are 31-299 (9.4 percent) all-time.

But the Islanders had their backs against the wall for much of the final month of the regular season too, and battled their way into the Stanley Cup Playoffs by going 12-6-2 in their final 20 games. The difference now is that a loss Tuesday would end their season.

"The last month of the season we had to win most of our games, and we did," defenseman Sebastian Aho said. "So we're kind of used to it and I feel like we know how to handle it and what to expect. That's a big thing."

There are areas where the Islanders need to improve, though, to get the win they need to extend the series. The most glaring issue in their 5-2 loss in Game 4 on Sunday was special teams, a series-long problem. The Hurricanes went 2-for-5 on the power play and the Islanders were 0-for-3.

Carolina is 5-for-19 (26.3 percent) with the man-advantage in the series and New York is 1-for-12 (8.3 percent). The Islanders' lone power-play goal in the series was Kyle Palmieri's winning deflection goal in their 5-1 win in Game 3 on Friday.

"I think they've had one of the better kills for a while now, just high pressure," Islanders forward Brock Nelson said. "They pressure high, they pressure low, and it seems to be you kind of have to find ways to support one another and maybe be a little bit unorthodox. So for us, you have to look at some video and try to find a way that if you get an opportunity tomorrow, you have to try to take advantage and be a difference maker in the game."

New York has outscored Carolina 8-6 at 5-on-5 but has been shorthanded a League-high 19 times. So the Islanders believe that if they can play more disciplined and stay out of the penalty box, they'll give themselves a better chance to win.

"This series has been even," Islanders coach Lane Lambert said. "If you look at the even-strength scoring chances, we're ahead of them in goals at even strength. They play tight. We play tight."

The Hurricanes are 9-1 in the playoffs at PNC Arena the past two seasons, so the Islanders know it will be a difficult challenge to win there. But New York takes some optimism from its one-goal losses (2-1 in Game 1, 4-3 in overtime in Game 2) in the first two games there.

"It's a tough building, but I thought the first two games we did a pretty good job there," defenseman Ryan Pulock said. "They were tight games, so we've just got to bear down and just understand the moments. You can't get bothered by that stuff. I don't think that this group will. The focus is on ourselves and the way that we need to play."

Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour said forward Jack Drury, who sustained an upper-body injury when he was boarded by Pulock in the first period Sunday, was feeling better Monday and potentially could play Tuesday.

Brind'Amour also said goalie Frederik Andersen should be able to back up Antti Raanta after not dressing the past three games, initially because of an illness, then because of an undisclosed injury.

Regardless of who plays, finishing the series on the first attempt Tuesday would give Carolina extra time to rest and heal before the next round.

The Hurricanes also don't want to give the Islanders any reason for hope.

"We understand this series has been tight and a play here or there is the difference in every game," Brind'Amour said. "So we know what we're getting into tomorrow night. They're not going away, and we've got to make sure we're at our best."