Credit: Thomas Salus-USA TODAY Sports
NHL: Florida Panthers at New York Islanders
The Islanders sought to earn their first home opener win since 1994 last night at UBS Arena on Long Island, but unfortunately, that did not happen. Despite out-shooting, out-hitting, and winning 12 more faceoffs than the Panthers, they lacked in the most vital department: goals.
The Isles came out in the first period a bit sloppy as captain Anders Lee got a hooking penalty just 22 seconds into the game, but above all, the Islanders looked hungry. They played aggressive and physical off the jump.
Casey Cizikas had the first scoring opportunity for the Islanders on that penalty kill. Defenseman Ryan Pulock fired the puck down full ice and it glided accurately right on the net giving a streaking Casey Cizikas a chance at the rebound. Panthers’ goalie Sergei Brobovsky stood tall however and was able to get a piece of it. That was just one of the many solid scoring chances that the Islanders had.
One of the many metrics that plagued the Islanders last season was the failure to capitalize on scoring chances. Defenseman Noah Dobson had a wrap around attempt in the backend of the first period, Mathew Barzal rung one off the crossbar in the second, and Cizikas dished one to Nikita Soshinikov shorthanded in the second, but Brobovsky was there to make the stop in a full split.
The Islanders would eventually get one past the glove side of Brobovsky in the third period on the power play with a wrist shot from defenseman Noah Dobson, who scored 13 goals last season. That goal tied it up at one a piece but it did not last long as the Panthers struck back just 30 seconds later off a wrap-around from Patric Hörnqvist to go up 2-1.
That goal would go on to be the game winner as Islanders forward Kyle Palmeri had the only other quality chance to tie it up. Palmeri was stopped by the goalie’s best friend as he clanged the puck off the right post on the power play with about nine minutes left in the third period.
The Panthers went on to tack on an empty-netter courtesy of the newly acquired Matthew Tkachuk making it 3-1 Florida; the score in which the game ended.
The Islanders face off against the Anaheim Ducks tomorrow at UBS Arena at 7:30PM.
