The Post’s Ethan Sears breaks down how the Islanders and Hurricanes matchup ahead of their first-round series in the NHL playoffs.
RALEIGH, N.C. — Though simply making the playoffs became an all-consuming quest for the Islanders, remember that the organization in no way would have settled for a first-round exit when the season started six months ago.
In truth, 82 regular-season games did not provide a strong verdict about whether or not the Islanders are well-equipped to do so, mostly becauseGame 1 on Monday of the first-round playoff series against the Hurricanes — a series in which the Islanders are +175 underdogs in Vegas — will be the seventh time they will play together since Horvat was acquired on Jan. 30 from Vancouver.Mathew Barzal and Bo Horvat have only played a handful of games together this season.
If the Islanders knock off the Hurricanes in the first round, the goaltending from Ilya Sorokin will likely be a major reason why.After playing almost every game for the Islanders down the stretch, Sorokin is expected to start every game in the playoffs, with good reason.
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