New York @ Carolina preview

Last Meeting ( May 1, 2019 ) NY Islanders 2, Carolina 5

The Carolina Hurricanes were teetering on the brink of elimination under two weeks ago, with the reigning Stanley Cup champions poised to deliver the knockout blow. The Hurricanes fended off the challenge to win that first-round series and recorded three more victories to push the New York Islanders to the edge prior to Game 4 of the second-round set on Friday in Raleigh, N.C.

"We're up 3-0, the last is the hardest, it always is," Carolina captain Justin Williams said after he scored the go-ahead goal midway into the third period of Wednesday's 5-2 win over New York. "The other team's backs are against the wall. We're going to work our tails off to get it done." The 37-year-old Williams' 38th goal moved him within one point of 100 for his postseason career and positioned the Hurricanes within one win of reaching the conference final for the fourth time in as many postseason appearances. After sweeping Pittsburgh in the first round, New York will look to become the fifth team in NHL history to rally after losing the first three games of a series. "There's only one way to look at it. You have to earn the right to keep playing," Islanders captain Anders Lee said. "Game 4 is (Friday). We have to win it. That's all it is. We have to keep ourselves alive."

TV: 7 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network, CBC, Sportsnet, TVAS

ABOUT THE ISLANDERS: Josh Bailey pulled even with Jordan Eberle by scoring his fourth goal of the playoffs on Wednesday and had an assist for his second multi-point performance in his last four games. Despite facing a steep uphill climb, the 29-year-old Bailey is focused on handing Carolina its first home loss of the postseason on Friday and then let the chips fall where they may after that. "We've just got to come out and win one," Bailey said. "I know it's a cliche, but obviously we have to give ourselves a chance back at home. Just try and win this next one and see what happens."

ABOUT THE HURRICANES: Curtis McElhinney held up his end of the bargain in Game 3 by turning aside 28 shots while becoming the oldest goalie to start his first Stanley Cup playoff game in place of Petr Mrazek, who is nursing a lower-body injury. "We can't rush a goalie back. ... When he's 100 percent, then we'll get him back in there," coach Rod Brind'Amour said of Mrazek on Thursday. Jaccob Slavin set up both of Teuvo Teravainen's goals on Wednesday to boost his team-leading assist and point total to 12, one shy of Frantisek Kaberle's club record for points by a defenseman (13 in 2006).

OVERTIME

1. New York is attempting to prevent being the first team to sweep a seven-game first-round series and then be swept in the second since Buffalo in 1993.

2. Carolina last held a 3-0 edge in a series in 2006, defeating New Jersey in five games in the Eastern Conference semifinals on the way to the franchise's lone Stanley Cup title.

3. The Islanders have allowed the first goal in five of their last six games.

PREDICTION: Islanders 4, Hurricanes 2