The New York Islanders have made a few changes throughout their series against the Carolina Hurricanes. Now, with elimination on the line Saturday, head coach Patrick Roy must make some more.
Before we dive into potential lineup switches, let’s recap the changes so far:
In Game 1, with Jean-Gabriel Pageau out with a lower-body injury, Roy elected to play Kyle MacLean as the third-line center, Simon Holmstrom as the fourth-line center, and Hudson Fasching as the second-line winger.
After the Islanders outplayed the Hurricanes but fell 3-1, Pageau returned to the lineup for Game 2, with Roy putting him back in his usual third-line center role.
Related: Islanders Pageau IN For Game Two Against Hurricanes
MacLean went back to centering the fourth line while Holmstrom remained in the lineup, taking Fasching’s spot.
The Islanders ended up coughing up a 3-0 lead, falling 5-3, which led to two changes heading into Game 3 at UBS Arena.
Roy re-inserted Fasching for Holmstrom, with his major change coming in goal, electing to go to Ilya Sorokin after giving Varlamov the first two games of the series.