2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs First Round Preview
The Stanley Cup Playoffs are here! It’s a Metro matchup between the Carolina Hurricanes and the New York Islanders. The Canes sealed it after defeating the Florida Panthers 6-4 on Thursday night. Had they lost, it would have been Carolina vs. Florida and the Islanders facing the President’s Trophy-winning Boston Bruins.
In terms of recent history, Carolina won the season series against the Islanders with a 3-1-0 record. For past playoff matchups, these two teams most recently met in 2019. Carolina handled the Islanders in a four game sweep after winning the first two games at Barclays Center.
Why Carolina Wins
Carolina was the second best team in the regular season for a reason. The Canes are a well-oiled machine, even without star winger Andrei Svechnikov. Other than the start of the season, the Hurricanes led the highly competitive Metropolitan Division.
Furthermore, these guys are hungry. The team’s last playoff game was not a good one. In the second round last year, Carolina was left with a very sour taste in their mouth. The Rangers came to Raleigh, North Carolina, and shut them out in Game 7. They also haven’t made the Conference Finals since sweeping the Islanders in 2019. People forget that this is a team with Stanley Cup aspirations.
The Canes have the best player in the series (Sebastian Aho), the best roster and the best coach. That should not be a debate. Their goaltending is as good as any when fully healthy, too. For reference, they have given up the fewest goals of any team not named the Boston Bruins. All four lines can score and they have an elite blue-line.
This is a team who has responded to adversity at every turn. From losing Max Pacioretty and losing Svechnikov, they still won the division. Everyone is wondering when Carolina gets the monkey off their back and makes the big run in the playoffs. 2023 could very well be that year.
Why New York Wins
The Islanders have been playing win or go home hockey since February. The bare minimum after acquiring Bo Horvat was to get here. They’re in the fortunate position of playing their best hockey of the season now. Despite the potentially catastrophic loss against Washington earlier this week, the hockey gods were on their side. The Chicago Blackhawks dispatched the Penguins in Pittsburgh, which paved the way for the Isles to clinch against the Montreal Canadiens. Furthermore, the underdogs will be playing with an added boost.
It has been confirmed that Mathew Barzal will play in Game One Monday Night. Unlike Carolina, the Islanders will be at full strength (minus Oliver Wahlstrom). One of the reasons Horvat’s scoring numbers have dipped following the trade was Barzal’s injury. The idea was to have both Horvat and Barzal play together. Now, that is what will happen. His return combined with Pierre Engvall do give the Isles a big boost in the speed department. They were able to avoid the doom and gloom of seeing Boston in the first round. Could they make it count against Carolina?
They very well could. However, it is an uphill battle. One of the factors helping the Islanders is Ilya Sorokin. Despite probably being the runner-up for the Vezina to Linus Ullmark this season, he enters the series as the best goalie on either team. The Isles will need Sorokin to outperform Freddie Andersen if they want a chance to survive.
Prediction
The rationalist in me says Carolina wins in six. They have simply showed no signs of stopping despite each hurdle. However, the fan in me says Isles in seven. Regardless, I am going to take this from as unbiased a position as possible.
Hurricanes win in six games.
