Islanders miss chance to steal Game 1 in NHL playoffs with frustrating loss to Hurricanes

RALEIGH, N.C. — This was the sort of ugly Game 1 that the Islanders felt right at home in, with the sort of tie game entering the final period that has become second nature for this team during a season when seemingly every game came down to the wire. 

So even if the Islanders never quite had their A-game on Saturday night, the 3-1 series-opening loss to Carolina represents a missed opportunity that they could come to rue later on. 

“Encouraged because I thought we played a really solid game,” coach Patrick Roy said. “We did a lot of good things out there. It was a hard-fought game, but we had our chances. 

“And frustrated because we had our chances.” 

A year ago, the difference in the six-game series between these teams came on the margins — the Islanders losing a pair of games in overtime and a third by one goal — and again, that was where Carolina came out ahead on Saturday evening. 

Neither team quite had offensive momentum entering the final period tied at one, with Evgeny Kuznetsov and Kyle MacLean each having scored in the game’s opening 10 minutes before the game got bogged down with defense.