RALEIGH, N.C. — Jean-Gabriel Pageau was out of the Islanders’ lineup in Game 1 against the Hurricanes after suffering a lower-body injury in the final game of the season.
Although Isles coach Patrick Roy said earlier in the day that Pageau would see how he felt after warmups, the center was unable to take the pregame ice at PNC Arena .
The unspecified injury occurred after Pageau suffered a hip check from Reilly Smith in the first period Wednesday against the Penguins.
“I think he’s obviously an integral part of our team, not only in the faceoff circle, but everywhere else,” Bo Horvat said before the game. “On the penalty kill, he’s on the power play. I hope he will be there tonight. And if he doesn’t, guys will have to step up and fill that void.
The absence of Pageau, the Islanders’ best option in the faceoff circle, represented a blow to the team’s roster depth in a series where it already looks like a disadvantage on paper.
“No one is going to get it back for Pageau. That’s everyone,” Roy said. “Everyone has to come in.”
In Pageau’s absence, Kyle MacLean moved up the lineup to play his place on the third line and the Isles used a hodgepodge fourth line of Matt Martin, Cal Clutterbuck and Simon Holmstrom, with the Swede playing at center.
“You look at the last two games, he’s been outstanding,” Roy said of MacLean. “Against Pittsburgh, against Jersey (Monday), he scored a big goal, made a superb play on Simon’s goal. We’re going to have to make that transition and play fast. If we play fast, we give ourselves a chance.
Semyon Varlamov, as expected, got the start in goal for the Islanders. Frederik Andersen was in the opposite net for Carolina.
Saturday was Roy’s first playoff game behind an NHL bench since April 30, 2014, when the Wild beat the Avalanche 5-4 in overtime in Game 7 to eliminate Colorado in the first round.
The Avalanche goaltender in this series was Varlamov, 25, who posted a .913 save percentage and started all seven games.
“The key to that series was when we lost (defender) Tyson Barrie, that knee on him,” Roy recalled. “And we already had (Matt) Duchene out of the playoffs. We lost a lot of guys. Every team is well prepared and every team wants to win. Sometimes it’s about small details and maybe there are things we could have done differently at that time. But obviously the experience that comes from it is: let’s focus on the first game and play like we did.
New York Post
