Half of the first round’s Games 1 are in the books, with the other half happening tonight across the NHL. The Islanders, of course, were the last team to qualify for the playoffs and the first team to lose last night.
The Isles and Hurricanes kicked off the busy slate with a 2-1 victory for the home team, which converted on two of four power plays while the Isles went 0 for 4.
It was close on the scoreboard, but a frustrating slog to generate offense made it feel worse. The Isles, however, feel their game got better and better as the game wore on, so they’re hoping to build off that heading into Wednesday’s Game 2.