New York Islanders take commanding series lead over Florida Panthers

After a strong effort in Game 2, the New York Islanders have the Florida Panthers down 2-0.

The New York Islanders looked to take a 2-0 lead against the Florida Panthers as they met for Game 2 earlier today. And after trailing twice in this game, the resilient effort of this Islander group was able to come back and take this game by a score of 4-2 to take a 2-0 series lead in their Stanley Cup Playoffs play-in round series.

Mike Hoffman would get the scoring going in this game, as his quick wrister through traffic beat Varlamov to give his team a rather important 1-0 lead.

https://twitter.com/FlaPanthers/status/1290689384610553859

The Islanders had just killed off a penalty but were unable to get the puck out of their zone. But in the second period, Matt Martin would knot this game up at one apiece.

A brilliant feed by Tom Kuhnhackl gave Martin his second-career Stanley Cup Playoff goal.

Two minutes later, the Islanders would find themselves trialing yet again, as Panther captain Aleksander Barkov was able to beat Semyon Varlamov high blocker side.

Jonathan Huberdeau did a tremendous job in screening Varlamov, who seem to be caught farther back in the net then he would have liked. But a shot like that from Barkov, and as quick as it left his stick, would have been a difficult shot to save regardless.

With seven minutes to go in the second period, Hoffman would get called for holding against Jordan Eberle, as the Islander power play, which had not looked strong up to this point in the series, looked to find a way to tie this game up before the third period.

After breaking into the offensive zone, Devon Toews and Ryan Pulock exchanged the puck on the blue line. The last pass from Toews fed Pulock at the top of the left circle, as he unloaded a one-timer that sneaks past Bobrovsky for his fourth career playoff goal, to tie this one up.

This is something the Islanders need to do more on the power play, as Pulock has a cannon and he needs to be given more of an opportunity to let it rip.

Less than three minutes later,  Jordan Eberle would receive a beautiful pass in the slot off the stick of Pulock, where a hesitation move pulled the Panthers defenseman Brady Keeper out of position, as well as Bobrovsky. Eberle waited patiently until he saw his target, beating the Panther netminder short side to give the Islanders a crucial 3-2 lead.

They say patience is a virtue and Eberle would most likely agree.

But Eberle was not done leaving his mark on the game. With under 10 minutes to play in the third period, the Islanders were looking for an insurance goal on the power play.

Josh Bailey, with a quick, accurate pass, fed Anthony Beauvillier inside the hash marks, who one-timed the puck towards the goal. Fortunately for Eberle, who was standing to the right of Bobrovsky, watched the puck deflect off his shin and into the net.

Call it puck luck, but regardless the Islanders now had a 4-2 lead.

The horn would sound as the Islanders were able to secure the victory and take a commanding two-game lead in this best of 5 qualifying round.

More from Puck Prose

• Detroit Red Wings 2023 Rookie Camp Has Plenty of Ups and Downs
• This Columbus Blue Jackets rookie doesn’t want to be forgotten
• 2 trades the Boston Bruins must make to secure the Stanley Cup
• 3 reasons the Avalanche won’t win the Stanley Cup in 2024
• This is a big year for Alex Turcotte and the Los Angeles Kings

New York Islanders

Islanders’ netminder Semyon Varlamov had another tremendous performance in Game 2, stopping 26 of 28. He was aggressive, limited his rebounds, and really looked sharp.

The Islanders did what they had to do. The goal was to pepper Bobrovsky with shots, which they did, as the team registered 34 shots on goal.

The first line, which was nonexistent looked strong in this one, getting better as the game went on.

Mathew Barzal was able to use his legs to draw penalties, while Anders Lee used his big frame to control the puck along the boards, leading to opportunities offensively.

And Eberle was able to score twice, to cap off an excellent performance by the team’s best.

J-G Pageau, the centerman on the third line, won 53.3% of his faceoffs, recording three hits and a block.

Andy Greene looked sharp in his Islander playoff debut filling in on the third line defensive pairing alongside Nick Leddy. He recorded one block in 16:07 of ice time, playing his usual lockdown defense.

If the Islanders can get output from all four lines, and locked down defensively as they did in Game 1, and later on in Game 2.

Florida Panthers

The Florida Panthers turned the puck over way too much for them to be effective. Twenty times they turned the puck over, only stealing the puck from their opponents a total of four times.

The defense of this team was never their strength, relying on their offense to lead them to victory.

Despite winning 60.9% of the faceoffs in this one, they just were unable to do what they do best, cycling their offensive zone.

The Panthers got lucky this game was still in reach as they took seven penalties. And yes, even though the Islanders only went 2 for 7, this tired out the team.

Mike Matheson, who injured Johhny Boychuk in Game 1, was at it again, racking up six penalty minutes, one being a double-minor for high-sticking on Brock Nelson. Later in the game, he got away with pushing Pageau hard into the net. He will need to control himself next game to allow his team to play five on five hockey.

Bobrovsky bailed his team out plenty in this one, but also would like one back, particularly the Pulock shot. He was caught out of position on Eberle’s first goal of the game, but it was a great move. The Panthers will look to stay alive when they face the Islanders for Game 3 tomorrow at 12:00 PM EST.