Panthers stay alive vs. Islanders

Brian Boyle and the Panthers turned the tables on the Islanders by playing with more discipline and patience to avoid being swept from the playoffs.

Boyle and Mike Hoffman scored goals 2:47 apart, and the Panthers took advantage of several miscues in beating the Islanders 3-2 in Game 3 of their best-of-five preliminary round playoff series Wednesday in Toronto.

“It’s rewarding for us because we’re putting the work in and a few mistakes have cost us so far,” Boyle said. “We’re not where we want to be in this series, but we can only control today.”

Erik Haula also scored and Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 20 shots. The 10th-seeded Panthers trail the best-of-five series 2-1 with Game 4 on Friday.

Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Brock Nelson, with 1:27 remaining, scored for the Islanders, the East’s seventh seed. Semyon Varlamov stopped 19 shots.

The Panthers put aside their disappointment following a 4-2 loss in Game 2 a day earlier, in which they squandered a pair of one-goal leads, and allowed the Islanders to convert two of seven power-play opportunities.

On Wednesday, the Panthers were penalized just three times and didn’t allow a power-play goal, with Haula playing a big role by blocking Ryan Pulock’s blast from the point in the second period.

Aaron Ekblad was both relieved and impressed by Haula blocking Pulock’s shot because he was the one watching from the box while serving an interference penalty.

“It was a gutsy play by him, and I love him for it,” said Ekblad, who gave Haula a hug once he returned to the bench.

The Panthers’ power-play unit also provided a spark by converting two of five chances.

Hoffman scored the go-ahead goal 41 seconds into the third period, and 34 seconds after Varlamov was penalized for delay of game after playing the puck in the trapezoid.

Panthers defenseman Keith Yandle faked a shot in the high slot, before feeding Hoffman, who blasted the puck in from the right circle.

Boyle made it 3-1 when he corralled a loose puck inside the Islanders zone and snapped a 40-footer inside the left post.

The Islanders snapped a sixgame winning streak.

Coyotes seize control: Conor Garland and Taylor Hall each scored in the third period and the Coyotes beat the Predators 4-1 in Edmonton, Alberta.

The Coyotes, seeded 11th in the West, can eliminate the sixthseeded Predators in Game 4 on Friday in this best-of-five series.

Lightning improve position: Tyler Johnson scored the tiebreaking goal with 87 seconds left to lead the Lightning to a 3-2 victory over the Bruins in Toronto and send the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Bruins to their second straight loss in the playoff seeding round.

Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 25 shots for the Lightning, who improved to 2-0 in the three-game round-robin.

The Lightning will earn the top seed in the East with a victory over the Flyers on Saturday.