Summary:
After an explosive offensive outing between Florida and Calgary, the Panthers are looking forward to ending their home-stand against a surging New York Islanders. Can Florida replicate their offensive outburst that they displayed against Calgary? On to the game!
Historical Context:
In 84 games played against the New York Islanders, the Panthers have 41 wins, 28 losses, 8 ties and 7 overtime losses. This leaves the team with 97 points and a .576% points percentage. This ranks New York as team number 2 out of 29 on the Panthers total win column.
What To Expect:
The red-hot Islanders enter tonight’s game with goaltender Jaroslav Halak posting back-to-back shutouts. Florida’s offense has been warming up as of late and have seen sensational production from rookie Aaron Ekblad, who currently leads the team in points. The Panthers will need to shutdown New York’s extremely deep forward corps if they want to pull off a win tonight.
Know Your Enemy:
John Tavares: Although he is entering his 6th NHL season, John Tavares is only 24-years-old. The 1st overall selection in the 2009 NHL entry draft has been near point-per-game during his NHL career and has shown no signs of slowing down. In 15 games this season, Tavares has 6 goals and 10 assists to lead his team in scoring.
Expected Line Combinations:
New York Islanders:
L1: Kulemin/Tavares/Okposo
L2: Lee/Nelson/Strome
L3: Bailey/Nielsen/Grabovski
L4: Martin/Cizikas/Clutterbuck
D1: de Haan/Hamonic
D2: Leddy/Boychuk
D3: Hickey/Visnovsky
Starting G: Halak
Backup G: Johnson
Florida Panthers:
L1: Kopecky/Barkov/Upshall
L2: Huberdeau/Bjugstad/Boyes
L3: Jokinen/Trocheck/Hayes
L4: Fleischmann/MacKenzie/Thornton
D1: Mitchell/Ekblad
D2: Campbell/Robak
D3: Olsen/Gudbranson
Starting G: Luongo
Backup G: Montoya
Closing Thoughts:
Tonight is “Hockey Fights Cancer Night” around the NHL. Please take the time to donate to an incredible cause.
Kris M. can be reached for contact on Twitter or via email at thesunshineskate@gmail.com.
