RALEIGH, N.C. — Jean-Gabriel Pageau was missing from the Islanders’ lineup in Game 1 against the Hurricanes after suffering a lower-body injury in the final game of the regular season.
Though Islanders coach Patrick Roy had said earlier in the day that Pageau would see how he felt after warmups, the center did not make it onto the PNC Arena ice pregame.
The unspecified injury came after Pageau took a first-period hip check from Reilly Smith on Wednesday against the Penguins.
“We’ll see for the next game,” coach Patrick Roy said following the 3-1 loss in the series opener. “Still day-to-day. We have two days before the next game so we’ll see what happens.”
Being without Pageau, the Islanders’ best option in the faceoff circle, represented a major hit to the team’s lineup depth in a series where that already looks like a disadvantage on paper.
Though Kyle MacLean played quite well on the third line in Pageau’s spot, the Islanders’ 41 percent win rate on faceoffs represented some of the knock-on effect from his absence.
“I think obviously he’s a huge part of our team, not only in the faceoff circle, but everywhere else,” Bo Horvat said before the game. “Penalty kill, he’s on the power play. Hopefully he’s gonna be in tonight. And if he’s not, guys are gonna have to step up and fill that void.”
MacLean, who scored the lone goal of the night and skated 12:10 for the Islanders in his playoff debut, continued to earn plaudits from Roy.
“It’s been a while now,” Roy said. “I really feel in Jersey [on Monday] and even before that in New York [last Saturday] as well, I feel he’s getting more and more confident out there and playing really good hockey.”
MacLean spent some of his formative years running around PNC Arena, as his dad John was an assistant coach with the Hurricanes from 2011-14, so scoring his first playoff goal here made for an added bonus.
“It was a cool building, great atmosphere, lots of noise, lots of adrenaline to start,” MacLean said. “But once we settled in, once I settled in, it was good. So cool to get it under my belt.”
Anders Lee was less than thrilled with a first-period holding call that went against him after Brady Skjei appeared to go down easily.
Carolina scored its opening goal on the ensuing power play just 1:35 into the night.
“I didn’t even feel him to be honest,” Lee said. “One of those, next thing I know — I’m just trying to get body position — I’m going to the box. I talked to the ref about it. We had a conversation and it was settled.”