Kyle Palmieri wasn’t the only member of his family who was ready for Game 2 on Monday.
Islanders forward Luca’s young son was raring to go long before the puck dropped in Raleigh, as a video shared by Palmieri’s wife, Ashlee, showed the youngest Palmieri cheering in his crib at five in the morning.
The adorable video had been posted to Ashlee’s Instagram Story and shared during the Islanders’ MSG telecast of Game 2.
“A quick chant (from the islanders) at 5 a.m., then back to bed for Luca. I think he’s ready for game 2,” Ashlee captioned the video.
Luca could be heard chanting “Let’s go Islanders” with his binky still in his mouth, then clapping afterwards.
Fittingly, Palmieri scored the Islanders’ first goal of the night at 16:22 of the first period to give his team a 1-0 lead in their eventual 5-3 loss to the Hurricanes, putting the Islanders in a 2-0 hole in the series.
The veteran forward managed to poke the puck between the pads of Hurricanes starter Frederik Andersen to score his first goal of the playoffs.
Palmieri had one of his best seasons to date, recording 30 goals for only the second time and scoring a career-high 54 points while appearing in all 82 regular season games for only the second time.
“It’s huge,” Palmieri recently told the Post’s Ethan Sears. “There’s a lot of wear and tear, especially as you get older, you play tough minutes – it’s tough. And sometimes it’s out of your control. Lucky enough to be healthy and suit up for number 82.”
The Islanders and Hurricanes return to Long Island for Game 3 at UBS Arena on Thursday after playing the first two games of the series in North Carolina.
This season is the second straight year the Islanders and Hurricanes have met in the playoffs and only the second playoff series in the life of UBS Arena, which opened in 2021.
New York Post
