The Hurricanes held on to beat the Islanders 2-1 in their playoff opener.

Key Highlights :

1. Carolina won the game against the New York Islanders 2-1.

2. Stefan Noesen scored the goal, and Antti Raanta made 25 saves to lead the defense.

3. Carolina is in the playoffs for the fifth straight season, the first such run since the former Hartford Whalers relocated to North Carolina in 1997.

4. The Islanders had reached the Stanley Cup semifinals in 2020 and 2021 before missing the playoffs last season.

5. Mathew Barzal returned from a lower-body injury that cost him 23 straight games.

     Carolina Hurricanes Playoff Preview

     The Carolina Hurricanes enter the playoffs as the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference, but they are not a team to be taken lightly.

     Led by first-year head coach Bill Peters, the Hurricanes are a fast, skilled and hard-nosed squad.

     The team’s top players include forwards Sebastian Aho and Stefan Noesen, as well as defenseman Brett Pesce.

     Aho, the team’s leading scorer with 86 points (37 goals, 49 assists), is a dynamic playmaker who can score goals in a variety of ways. Noesen, a power-play specialist, is a tough forward who is capable of scoring big goals.

     The Hurricanes will face the No. 1 seed New York Islanders in the first round of the playoffs.

     The Islanders are a veteran-laden team that is led by captain John Tavares.

     The Islanders are a fast and skilled team, but they can also be physical.

     The Islanders will be a tough opponent for the Hurricanes, but they are capable of winning any game they play.

     The Hurricanes will need to play their best game if they want to advance to the second round.

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