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Skinner, Hurricanes visit Islanders

Apr 2, 2011 - 4:00 PM (Sports Network) - Hurricanes forward Jeff Skinner is thriving in his first ever chase for a NHL playoff spot.

The Calder Trophy candidate will try to lead ninth-place Carolina to a third straight victory and a big two points this evening against the New York Islanders at Nassau Coliseum.

The youngest player in the NHL at 18 years and 10 months, Skinner leads all rookies with 58 points and scored his 28th and 29th goals of the season on Wednesday in a 6-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens. The center has five goals and three assists in his past six games.

"He plays his best hockey in the big games," Carolina head coach Paul Maurice said of Skinner, the seventh overall pick of the 2010 draft.

Fellow rookie Jamie McBain also scored twice and Tuomo Ruutu notched a pair of assists for the Hurricanes, who have won five of their last six games and sit three points behind the Rangers and Sabres for the final two playoff spots in the Eastern Conference.

Carolina and Buffalo both have five games remaining, while New York has four left. The Rangers are idle today, while the Sabres visit the Southeast Division-leading Capitals. Carolina then hosts Buffalo on Sunday.

While the Hurricanes will be looking for two points against the Islanders, New York actually gave Carolina some help on Thursday by beating the Rangers, 6-2. Matt Moulson and Radek Martinek both had a goal and an assist, defenseman Dylan Reese notched a career-best three assists and Al Montoya made 25 saves in helping his club snap a three-game skid.

While the Islanders are no longer in the playoff chase, players like Montoya are enjoying playing spoiler to other clubs.

"This is our chance to knock teams out," said Montoya, who was selected sixth overall in the 2004 draft by the Rangers. "We don't have much else to play for except next season. Right now it's all about coming together and seeing how long we can ride this out."

New York did lose Frans Nielsen to a head injury versus the Rangers, while forward Michael Grabner, who is tied for the NHL rookie lead with 31 goals, could return from a two-game absence while awaiting the birth of his son. Grabner announced the birth on Twitter during the Islanders' win over the Rangers.

The Isles' tonight will try to avoid being swept in their four-game series with the Hurricanes for the second time in three years. They dropped their fifth straight game to Carolina on March 18, with Skinner notching a goal and an assist.

The 'Canes have won nine of their last 11 overall against the Isles as well as two straight and six of the past seven played on Long Island.

Hurricanes goaltender Cam Ward, who himself was a rookie when Carolina won the Stanley Cup in 2006, has won four straight starts against the Islanders and is 8-0-1 in his last nine versus them. The netminder is 13-2-1 with a 2.22 goals- against average lifetime versus New York.

Montoya took the loss on March 18, yielding three goals on 35 shots in his first ever appearance against Carolina. Rick DiPietro is 5-12-1 with a 3.61 GAA versus Carolina.