Islanders at Hurricanes
The New York Islanders look to keep alive their rail-thin postseason hopes on Thursday when they visit the Carolina Hurricanes. New York required an overtime goal to win its third straight contest and will need three more victories in addition to some help to overcome a five-point deficit behind Toronto for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
"Win (six) in a row and give yourself a chance," Islanders defenseman/forward Thomas Hickey said after scoring in overtime of a 2-1 victory over Nashville on Tuesday. New York hasn't made the most of its chances versus Carolina this season, getting outscored 22-15 to drop three of the first four meetings with its Metropolitan Division rival. The Hurricanes put themselves in the mix with a sterling 13-game point streak (9-0-4), but have been eliminated from postseason contention in the midst of a three-game losing skid in April. "We've got to do it right here," Carolina coach Bill Peters said. "We're going to finish hard here. We want to finish on a positive note with our effort and our attention to detail."
TV: 7 p.m. ET, MSG-Plus2 (New York), FSN Carolinas, NHL.TV
ABOUT THE ISLANDERS (38-29-12): Veteran Jaroslav Halak has yielded just four goals en route to winning each of his last three starts while posting a .939 save percentage in five outings since being recalled from Bridgeport of the American Hockey League. "He was a pro down there," interim coach Doug Weight told Newsday of the 31-year-old Halak's time with the Sound Tigers, for whom he recorded a 17-7-3 mark. Halak hasn't fared well away from home this season, losing seven of 11 decisions with a 3.23 goals-against average.
ABOUT THE HURRICANES (35-30-14): Jeff Skinner collected two goals and an assist in Tuesday's 5-3 setback at Minnesota to increase his point total to 21 (15 goals, six assists) with a plus-11 rating over his past 18 games. The 24-year-old's 35 goals are already a career high while his 61 points are just two shy of his Calder Trophy-winning season in 2010-11. Fellow forward Elias Lindholm has been held off the scoresheet in three of his last four games, but has erupted for seven points (two goals, five assists) in four encounters against New York this season.
OVERTIME
1. Carolina G Cam Ward owns a 3-0-1 mark versus New York this season despite recording a 3.70 goals-against average and .885 save percentage.
2. Islanders LW Nikolay Kulemin (upper body) skated with the team in Wednesday's practice, but Weight told Newsday that a decision on his availability versus the Hurricanes will be made Thursday.
3. Carolina RW Lee Stempniak has 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in the past 14 games.