Florida Panthers Defeat New York Islanders 4-1

The Panthers from Florida are the two-time defending Stanley Cup Champions and are a difficult matchup for the Islanders. The Islanders play against the Panthers in the second half of a back-to-back. For a team beset by injuries, this was bad news for the Islanders.

The New York Islanders were aiming for their fourth consecutive win in this game in Florida. The Islanders are coming off a surprising 2-0 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday night. Florida is coming off a 7-6 overtime win over Columbus on Saturday. So, they too are on the second half of back-to-back games, in this compressed schedule due to the upcoming Milan-Cortina Olympics. Do you think back-to-backs are hard?

Panthers and Islanders Scoring Summary

In the first period, there was one goal. The Panthers scored. Uvis Balinskis scored his first goal of the season. The Panthers led 1-0. In the second period, Carter Verhaeghe scored. That gave the Panthers a 2-0 lead. With the Islanders having difficulty scoring goals, this seemed like an insurmountable lead. Then, Mathew Barzal scored. The Islanders trailed 2-1.

In the third period, Seth Jones scored for the Panthers, and they led 3-1. With only five minutes left in the game, that four-on-four goal gave the Islanders a difficult task. Then Sam Reinhart quickly scored an empty net goal to take a 4-1 lead. That effectively ended the game.

News and Notes

• David Rittich started for the Islanders tonight. Rittich is 6-2-1 this season with a 2.61 goals against average, a .901 save percentage, and one shutout. The Czech netminder came into this game on a hot streak. He is 3-0-1 in his last four starts. Rittich is 4-1-0 lifetime against the Panthers, but has not faced them since the 2021-22 season.
• The Islanders went 1-2-0 against the Panthers last season, winning the most recent matchup on March 16. The Isles are 4-4-2 against the Panthers in their last 10 meetings. The Islanders have won two of their last three visits to South Florida.
• Casey Cizikas has scored empty-net goals in consecutive games for the Islanders. Cizikas finished Saturday with 14:04 time on ice, including 2:52 shorthanded as the Islanders killed off two Tampa power plays. Cizikas also drew the double-minor that led to Cal Ritchie’s game-winning goal. He has 7 points in 29 games this season.
• With his 25th shutout in the last game in Tampa, Ilya Sorokin matched Chico Resch for the most shutouts in New York Islanders history.
• The Islanders’ special teams are doing well. Their power play has scored in four of their last five games, going 4-for-18 (22.2%) over that span. The Islanders’ penalty kill has not allowed a goal over the past three games, going 8-for-8 over that span.

Conclusion 

The standings in the Metropolitan Division are very tight. The Islanders entered this game in the third playoff spot. Coming into this game, only five points separated first from last place in the division. So, a two-game winning or losing streak can lead to radical changes in the standings.