Islanders unable to knock out Panthers
PANTHERS 3
ISLANDERS 2
TORONTO — Brian Boyle and the Florida 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-offive preliminary round playoff series on Wednesday.
“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 at the NHL's Eastern Conference hub city of Toronto 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 onegoal 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.
It was the Islanders' turn to blame themselves for a loss, which snapped a sixgame winning streak — including regular season — over Florida, dating to a 4-2 loss on Nov. 10, 2018.
“Obviously we didn't execute our game plan,“Pageau said. “Discipline was in our game plan, and we didn't do it. It's unfortunate, but we're still in a good position.”
The Islanders still have a one-game lead in the series, and history on their side.
The Panthers are seeking to become just the second team to overcome a 2-0 series deficit in a best-offive, and first since the Islanders did so over Washington in 1985. Otherwise, teams are 56-1 when winning the first two games of the NHL's best-of-five series overall.