The New York Islanders were pushed to the brink in their first-round series with the Carolina Hurricanes by a familiar flaw as they lost Game 4 at home, convincingly, 5-2 on Sunday afternoon in Elmont.
A good but all-too-brief start for the Islanders was short-circuited by an early Hurricanes 5-on-3, and though things remained close throughout the first, the Hurricanes took advantage of another power play — this time deserved — to make it 2-0 early in the second. They never looked back, and the game quickly became a dud.
Going into the series, and really all season long, the Islanders’ power play was a major concern because it typically provides nothing but a momentum self-kill.