The Islanders have no choice but to keep believing in themselves and hope they can make history.
So while the fact that we lost three games in a row when we had a chance to win is definitely bad, we have no choice but to try to take it as a positive.
“I thought we could have won Game 1 and this one,” said Patrick Roy, who lost 3-2 in Game 3 and put the Islanders in a 3-0 hole against Carolina, one game away from elimination. After that, he spoke. “Game two in the second half, they stole the win from us. That’s the playoffs. And we’ve been resilient all year.
“I love this group. They care and I know they’ll come back with a big effort on Saturday. Unfortunately, we can’t look back. We have to look forward and try to bounce back. We need to aim for it.”
The series was pretty evenly contested game by game. The Islanders had a chance in Game 1, he took a 3-0 lead in Game 2, and his goaltending made the difference in Game 3. But then came Carolina. It comes out on top every time.
And after a shaky second leg, Frederik Andersen was at the absolute top on Thursday night.
This makes the islanders’ task even more difficult.
“To achieve that big goal, right?” Roy said when asked what keeps the team going through challenges. “We got the game up 3-2, but we needed to get the third goal and end the game.” [tied]. They had enough time in the third period to get that one point, but they fell just short. ”
In NHL history, only four teams have overcame a 3-0 deficit to win a series, the last being in the first round between the Kings and Sharks in 2014.
The Islanders have accomplished that only once in their history, in 1975 in the second round against the Penguins.
If these Islanders intend to make more history, the road begins Saturday afternoon.
“Get the first one,” Anders Lee said. “We have to win one game before we win four. Take it one step at a time.”
Matt Martin was in the lineup for Game 3 after missing Wednesday’s practice for maintenance, ruling out Ruslan Iskhakov’s playoff debut.
Martin finished with 8 minutes and 16 seconds on the ice, two hits and one shot on net.
Frederik Andersen found the back of the net for Carolina for the third straight game.
Tony DeAngelo joined the Hurricanes’ lineup along with Brett Pesce, who is dealing with a lower-body injury.
Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said Jesper Fast, who has missed all three games so far, will miss the remainder of the playoffs with an upper-body injury.
