4 Islanders’ Bright Spots Through 4 Games vs. the Hurricanes – The Hockey Writers – New York Islanders

The first round seems all but over yet somehow it isn’t. The New York Islanders on the verge of elimination kept their season alive with a win in double overtime against the Carolina Hurricanes. The win not only avoids the dreaded sweep, it forces a Game 5 and another win gives them an outside chance at the rare reverse sweep.

Related: Islanders Hold Off Hurricanes in Double OT to Avoid Elimination

The Islanders have been outplayed for the most part and the first round has been a one-sided series. That said, there have been a few bright spots for the Islanders, a few players who have helped give them a chance in this series. One of those bright spots is their All-Star forward who helped them stave off elimination.

Mathew Barzal

Scoring the game-winner in the Islanders’ only win of the series thus far makes any skater a bright spot by default. Robert Bortuzzo fired the puck on the net from the point and Mathew Barzal was in the shooting lane to deflect it to the back of the goal to give the team a 3-2 victory. Aside from that goal, Barzal has been one of the few forwards who has generated offense throughout the series.

Barzal scored the first goal in Game 4 and he also added an assist in the Game 2 loss. With three points, he’s tied with Bo Horvat for second-most on the Islanders in series which says a lot, mostly that the Hurricanes have a great defense and there isn’t much offense outside of the top line. This season proved that Barzal is a complete player who can score in multiple ways and if the Islanders are going to make this a close series and pull off the upset, the offense will run through him.

Semyon Varlamov

Goaltending is a hot topic with the Islanders these days, and it should be considering Patrick Roy knows the position better than most if not all head coaches in the NHL. Semyon Varlamov willed the team to the playoffs with strong starts down the stretch and started the first two games. Then came the Game 2 collapse where he allowed four goals in the final two periods of play to result in a 5-3 loss. After that, Ilya Sorokin took over and had a Game 3 to forget so Varlamov was back in the net.

Varlamov has been far from perfect and has had plenty of rough moments in this series. That said, he’s made plenty of the games close. With a .930 save percentage (SV%) and a 2.08 goals-against average (GAA) on 115 shots, he’s kept the Islanders in this series and gives them a…