Kyle Palmieri wasn’t the only member of his family that was ready for Game 2 on Monday.
The Islanders forward’s young son Luca was raring to go long before the puck ever dropped in Raleigh as 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 was shared on the Islanders’ MSG telecast of Game 2.
“A quick 5am [Islanders] chant and 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 and then clapping after.
Fittingly, Palmieri scored the Islanders’ opening goal of the night 16:22 into the opening period to put his team ahead 1-0 in their eventual 5-3 loss to the Hurricanes, putting the Islanders in a 2-0 series hole.
The veteran forward was able to poke the puck through the pads of Hurricanes starter Frederik Andersen for his first goal of the playoffs.
Palmieri has had one of his best seasons to date, recording 30 goals for just the second time ever and putting up a career-best 54 points while appearing in all 82 regular season games for just the second time.
“It’s big,” Palmieri recently told The Post’s Ethan Sears. “There’s a lot of wear and tear, especially as you get older, you’re playing hard minutes — it’s hard. And sometimes it’s out of your control. Fortunate enough to be healthy and dressing 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 consecutive year that the Islanders and Hurricanes have met in the postseason and just the second playoff series in the life of UBS Arena, which opened its doors in 2021.
