Hurricanes 2, Islanders 1
Apr 14, 2026; Elmont, New York, USA; Carolina Hurricanes left wing Nikolaj Ehlers (27) attempts a shot against the New York Islanders during the third period at UBS Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Schneidler-Imagn Images | Dennis Schneidler-Imagn Images The Carolina Hurricanes closed out their season with a 2-1 win over the New York Islanders on Tuesday night at USB Arena. After clinching the Eastern Conference title by earning a point in Philadelphia last night for the first time in franchise history, they finished with 113 points which is good enough for second place in the league, behind only Colorado.
This means the Hurricanes will have home ice against any team in the playoffs except the Avs. After Boston won their game, it was determined that Carolina will face the Ottawa Senators in round one of the playoffs. Canes Country will have more about that this week.
Felix Unger Sorum earned his first NHL point in his first game when he knocked a puck up to Nikolaj Ehlers, who was streaking up the ice. Ehlers made no mistake and he gave his team a 1-0 lead just three minutes into the game. Bo Horvat tied the game in the second, but Mark Jankowski found an open spot and put in the game-winner with five minutes and change left.
Brandon Bussi had an excellent game and made 28 saves on 29 shots to earn his 31st win of the season. Bussi had to play in back-to-back games somewhat unexpectedly as Pyotr Kochetkov was not allowed to play for “technical” reasons after being listed as the starting goalie for the game. The team removed him from the injured reserved list at about this same time.
In the meantime, Fred Andersen was not “available” for whatever reasons. This was an odd occurrence. It was a pretty mild game with little hitting on either side and it looked like the Canes escaped injury free.