Hurricanes look to stay hot in clash vs. sinking Islanders

The Carolina Hurricanes will face another team on a losing streak when the New York Islanders visit for Sunday's game in Raleigh, N.C.

The Islanders (32-30-10, 74 points) saw their skid extend to four games with a 5-3 loss Saturday at Tampa Bay despite posting three third-period goals. New York has surrendered at least three goals in regulation in five consecutive games.

"We needed two points," Islanders defenseman Adam Boqvist said. "Hopefully, we can get that (Sunday). I think this time of the year you just have to refocus."

The Hurricanes (44-24-4, 92 points) have been on a roll. They're 10-2-0 across their last dozen games, racking up at least four goals in six of their last seven victories.

When the Hurricanes beat Montreal 4-1 on Friday night, the result sent the Canadiens to their fifth straight loss (0-3-2).

Carolina's Jackson Blake scored a goal for the first time since Jan. 23 and had two assists.

"I thought I was playing the right way for the most part of the last 20 games," Blake said. "It feels good to get rewarded a little bit there."

Hurricanes forward Taylor Hall has continued his recent high production. The former Hart Trophy recipient has scored in three consecutive games and in five of the last seven.

"I'm having a blast, as you can probably tell," Hall said.

His tally Friday marked his seventh goal in a 10-game stretch. Five of those goals have come in the last three games.

"We're on the same page as much as we can on the power play and I think we're starting to click," Hall said. "We're playing hockey and having some principles in place, but letting ourselves make plays, which is where you want to get to."

Hurricanes forward Andrei Svechnikov was back for Friday's contest after missing seven games with an upper-body injury. He made an impact with his energy and provided an empty-net goal.

"You see what kind of asset he is and what he can bring to our game," Hall said. "Once he gets up and running, it's pretty scary."

The Islanders are among several teams jockeying to get into playoff position in the Eastern Conference, so results such as Saturday's are potentially devastating.

"Again, this is a good group," Islanders coach Patrick Roy said. "The guys are working hard."

The Islanders need to do a better job converting on scoring opportunities. A trend of failing to produce was a glitch again Saturday.

"We had a lot of chances," Roy said. "We did a lot of good things."

Defenseman Tony DeAngelo had the Islanders' final goal Saturday. He has had two stints on the Carolina roster across recent seasons.

Given Carolina's recent success, the Hurricanes likely will stick with their every-other-game goalie rotation, meaning it will be Pyotr Kochetkov's turn in the nets even though Frederik Andersen has produced a personal six-game winning streak.

This will be the fourth and final regular-season meeting between the Islanders and Hurricanes. The home team has won each time, including Carolina's 4-0 decision Dec. 17, when Kochetkov made 32 saves.

--Field Level Media