The New York Islanders are not exactly in the spot they’d like to find themselves in to head into Game 4. They’re trailing 2-1 in the series and despite throwing everything and the kitchen sink at the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night they still fell 5-4 in Game 3.

The Islanders showed a battle level that they hadn’t in the previous game and the offense started to roll a bit later in the game, but it was far from the effort that is expected of them in the playoffs. So what exactly will occur in Game 4? We’ll find out soon enough, but there are still plenty of questions on everyone’s mind.

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Here are three questions facing the Islanders entering Game 4 at the Nassau Coliseum.

Will the Islanders’ top line finally produce?

When the Islanders’ top line consists of Jordan Eberle, Mathew Barzal and Leo Komarov, it’s never ideal that Komarov is the most impactful player on that line. That’s been the case for a majority of the series so far between New York and Pittsburgh.

If you’re one to look on the bright side, Barzal and Eberle played a much bigger role in Game 3 than they have in most of the series. Barzal had a pair of assists on Thursday — one on Scott Mayfield’s goal and the other on Anthony Beauvillier’s power-play goal in the third — and Eberle also had a hand on Mayfield’s goal.

The two played a much more active role in the game as well with Barzal putting up a team-leading five shots on goal and Eberle shooting the puck on net three times.

“His line was,” Trotz said on Friday about Barzal playing better. “You look back at the first two games, he was pretty quiet and we got a split. So, it’s good for us that he’s sort of waking up and being more of a force in the games. That should serve us well going forward.”

The New York Islanders will need that effort again in Game 4 if they’re hoping to have a fighting chance in this series.

Varlamov or Sorokin?

Who would have pictured that the Islanders would have had a goalie controversy this early in the playoffs, but here we are. Ilya Sorokin did everything he could to lead the Islanders to a win in Game 1, and he did just that.

Sorokin made huge saves when the Islanders needed it most and they won in overtime. Semyon Varlamov returned in Game 2, allowed a soft goal and then proceeded to give the Islanders a very strong effort, but ultimately they fell 2-1. Rinse and repeat in Game 3, where Sorokin made some big stops, but failed to come up clutch when the Islanders needed it most.

Now we’re at Game 4 and there is plenty of people calling for Sorokin to return to the net. NYI Hockey Now ran a story on Friday calling for the change as well, but will Trotz be taking that advice or sticking with his long-time starter?

Trotz won’t be tipping his hand when he meets with the media before Game 4, but the choice he makes in net could have a severely strong impact on the outcome of this series when all is said and done.

Carry Over From Game 3

The third period of Game 3 certainly felt like playoff hockey. There was a lot of bad blood by the time the final buzzer sounded.

How much of that will carry over and which team will it help in Game 4 is a big one. The New York Islanders seemed to feed off the energy that the chaos in the third period created.

After a massive scrum broke out early in the third period, which ultimately resulted in an Islanders power play, they found the back of the net and tied the game at three. The Islanders are often at their best when they throw the other team off their game and they play their physical brand of hockey.

“It felt like playoff hockey,’’ Mayfield said on Thursday night. “That’s part of it, those scrums, physical games. And it’s good to see. That’s, I think that’s what fans want. They want an intense game and I think we gave them that.”

Will that carry over into Game 4? Time will tell.