Stanley Cup Playoffs: New York Islanders versus Florida Panthers series preview
Will the Florida Panthers get revenge on the New York Islanders for 2016 in their Stanley Cup Playoffs series?
For the first time since the 2016 postseason, the Florida Panthers are back in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. They’ll be playing a familiar foe in the play-in round when they square off against the New York Islanders. Yes, the same team that beat them in 2016.
However, this time around, the two teams are a bit different. The Islanders finished the regular season as the seventh seed while the Panthers needed the expanded postseason of 24 teams in order to get in as the 10th seed.
This is a series between two flawed, but talented, teams. Neither team has played since mid-March, so you might forget how they’ve gotten to this point. Here’s a quick refresher course for both teams.
NEW YORK ISLANDERS
After surprising everyone last season by not just making the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but also sweeping the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round, nobody was going to get caught off guard by the Isles. They nearly signed Artemi Panarin but had to watch the cross-town New York Rangers sign him instead.
On paper, their 35-23-10 record looks pretty good. But some context is necessary. They started the season 16-3-1, which included a 10-game winning streak and another five-game winning streak.
Since their five-game winning streak ended on Nov. 21, they’ve gone 19-20-9. The Isles made a huge move at the trade deadline when they traded for Jean-Gabriel Pageau and immediately signed him to a multi-year extension. Was that move enough to give them a spark? Only time will tell.
FLORIDA PANTHERS
The history of the Panthers has been defined by mediocrity. In 26 seasons, this is just the sixth time they’ve played past the regular season. Last summer, the Panthers made some huge changes to try to change the culture. First, they hired Joel Quenneville to be their head coach. Next, they signed goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, defenseman Anton Stralman, forward Brett Connolly, and forward Noel Acciari.
While their additions didn’t fix their huge issues, they masked them enough to be able to sneak into the playoffs. The Panthers are looking to advance past the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since their magical run to the Stanley Cup Final in 1996.