New York Islanders (39-27-16, third in the Metropolitan Division) vs. Carolina Hurricanes (52-23-7, second in the Metropolitan Division)
Raleigh, North Carolina; Saturday, 5 p.m. EDT
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK: LINE Hurricanes -222, Islanders +182; over/under is 5.5
NHL PLAYOFFS FIRST ROUND: Hurricanes host series opener
BOTTOM LINE: The Carolina Hurricanes host the New York Islanders to start the Eastern Conference first round. The teams meet Tuesday for the fifth time this season. The teams tied the regular season series 2-2. In their last regular season meeting on March 19, the Hurricanes won 4-1. Teuvo Teravainen led the Hurricanes with two goals.
Carolina is 16-6-4 against the Metropolitan Division and 52-23-7 overall. The Hurricanes have a 48-7-3 record when scoring at least three goals.
New York is 39-27-16 overall and 13-7-6 against the Metropolitan Division. The Islanders have a 17-7-4 record when scoring a power-play goal.
TOP PERFORMERS: Sebastian Aho has scored 36 goals with 53 assists for the Hurricanes. Jake Guentzel has six goals and seven assists over the last 10 games.
Mathew Barzal has scored 23 goals with 57 assists for the Islanders. Kyle Palmieri has seven goals and five assists over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Hurricanes: 7-3-0, averaging 3.2 goals, 5.1 assists, 2.8 penalties and 6.4 penalty minutes while giving up 1.8 goals per game.
Islanders: 8-1-1, averaging 3.1 goals, 5.1 assists, two penalties and 4.6 penalty minutes while giving up two goals per game.
INJURIES: Hurricanes: None listed.
Islanders: Scott Mayfield: out for season (lower-body), Noah Dobson: day to day (upper body).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
