Florida Panthers Head to Long Island to Take on the Islanders

Tonight at 7 P.M. EST, the Florida Panthers will play on the second night of their back-to-back against the New York City NHL teams, with a matchup with the Islanders.

The Florida Panthers have started out the season as difficultly as possible. After seven games, they’ve dug themselves a 1-3-3 hole.

They’re currently on a three-game road trip. They dropped the first game last night to the New York Rangers, and they’ll close the road trip up on Saturday against the New Jersey Devils, but not really.

They’ll split a ‘home-and-home’ series next Thursday and Friday versus the Winnipeg Jets, but it won’t really be ‘home-and-home.’ The two clubs will face off in Helsinki, Finland.

The New York Islanders have started the season by going 3-4-0, and unlike the Panthers, only two of their seven games have been a one-goal affair.

They just completed a four-game road trip with a 5-2 loss to the Nashville Predators, a 4-1 loss to the Anaheim Ducks, a 7-2 victory against the Los Angeles Kings, and a 4-1 loss to the San Jose Sharks.

After this, they’ll hit the road for another three-game road trip, taking on the Philadelphia Flyers, Carolina Hurricanes, and Pittsburgh Penguins.

When Last We Met

The last time the Panthers and the Islanders faced off was last season, on March 26th. 38-28-7 Florida topped the 31-34-10 Islanders by a 3-0 final score.

Evgeni Dadonov and Keith Yandle each had a goal and an assist, Nick Bjugstad lit the lamp, and the trio of Aleksander Barkov, Aaron Ekblad, and Jamie McGinn each pitched in with helpers.

James Reimer notched the latest of his 21 career shutouts, turning aside all 32 Islanders shots. New York was eliminated from postseason contention with the decision.

NEW YORK, NY – MARCH 26: Nick Bjugstad #27 of the Florida Panthers congratulates teammate James Reimer #34 on his shutout following a 3-0 victory over the New York Islanders at Barclays Center on March 26, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/NHLI via Getty Images) /

“They’re a really good team and they’ve got a lot of high-end talent and they can put the puck in the back of the net. For me, I just try to be big in there and I tried to read the puck as best I could.” – Reimer, as quoted by Brian Compton on NHL.com.

Panthers Last Game

Last night, the Panthers dropped a 5-2 decision to the New York Rangers. Jonathan Huberdeau notched two assists, Vincent Trocheck and Mike Hoffman each scored, and the Rangers chased Michael Hutchinson by lighting the lamp four times on 19 shots.

Islanders Last Game

In the Islanders’ last competition, on Saturday, they dropped a 4-1 contest against the Sharks. Brock Nelson lit the lamp, assisted by Josh Bailey and Anders Lee for the only New York goal of the game.

Robin Lehner stopped 37-of-41 shots to take the loss for the Islanders, in their fifth consecutive game decided by three or more goals.

LOS ANGELES, CA – OCTOBER 18: Anders Lee #27 and Casey Cizikas #53 of the New York Islanders celebrate after defeating the Los Angeles Kings 7-2 in the game at STAPLES Center on October 18, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Adam Pantozzi/NHLI via Getty Images) /

“At times, we weren’t fully engaged as a team, especially in the second. When we had a few mistakes, the bench kind of sunk. We didn’t pick each other up and find a way to take the game back. That’s disappointing, but I definitely think the third period, from a physical and emotional standpoint, it’s a positive that we’re all going to have each other’s backs in here. No one’s going to quit.” – Islanders forward Matt Martin, as quoted by Eric Gilmore on NHL.com.

All-Time Series

The Panthers own a 49-30-8-9 record against the Islanders. The resultant .599 points percentage ranks as their highest against any opponent. This is their 97th common game, which makes the Islanders the fourth-most-common Florida foe.

This Day in History

Florida owns a 5-5-1-1 mark on October 24th. In 2015, they defeated the Dallas Stars, 6-2 behind a goal and an assist each from Jaromir Jagr and Nick Bjugstad.

Dave Bolland, Aaron Ekblad, Quinton Howden, and Reilly Smith each also scored. Al Montoya stopped 33-of-35 for the win, which pushed Florida to 4-3-1.

OTTAWA, ON – APRIL 07: Quinton Howden #42 of the Florida Panthers plays in the game against the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre on April 7, 2016 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/NHLI via Getty Images) /

2017 Montreal Canadians 5, Florida Panthers 1
2015 Florida Panthers 6, Dallas Stars 2
2011 Florida Panthers 2, Montreal Canadians 1
2009 Philadelphia Flyers 5, Florida Panthers 1
2008 Florida Panthers 4, San Jose Sharks 3
2007 Florida Panthers 4, Philadelphia Flyers 3
2003 Minnesota Wild 4, Florida Panthers 3
2002 New York Islanders 5, Florida Panthers 3
2001 Washington Capitals 4, Florida Panthers 3, OT
1999 Philadelphia Flyers 2, Florida Panthers 0
1998 Florida Panthers 2, Washington Capitals 2, OT
1995 Florida Panthers 6, Toronto Maple Leafs 1

Common Thread

Legendary Florida goaltender Roberto Luongo started his now 19-season NHL career with the New York Islanders. In 24 games for them in 1999-00, he went 7-14-1 with a .904 save percentage and a 3.25 GAA.

UNIONDALE, NY – DECEMBER 27: Goalie Roberto Luongo #1 of the New York Islanders tries for the poke check as teammate Eric Cairns #33 follows Andre Savage #28 of the Boston Bruins on December 27, 1999 at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. (Photo by B Bennett/Getty Images) /

Starting Lineup