The Islanders fell behind Florida 2-0 in the second period and were never able to recover Friday night in a 3-1 loss in Game 2 of their first round series with the Panthers. Center John Tavares was a force for the New York Islanders, producing two assists and one goal.
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The Islanders could not pull even and the Panthers grabbed a 2-0 lead at 1:11 of the second thanks again to Smith.
Reilly Smith had two goals, Jussi Jokinen had a goal and two assists and Teddy Purcell also scored for the Panthers.
With the scene shifting to Brooklyn for Games 3 and 4 on Sunday and Wednesday, respectively, this series is shaping up to be every bit worth the price of admission. Game 2 in the best-of-seven series is set for Friday night at the BB&T Center. “I’m not going to blame (goaltender Roberto Luongo)”.
With the Panthers putting the pressure on the Islanders for most of the second period, John Tavares came up with a big moment of his own by shooting a wristshot of his own, tying it at 3 with the clock winding down in that period. “I have no questions about Thomas Greiss and his compete level”. They are facing a team that does not have much playoff experience outside of few players such as the ageless Jaromir Jagr. He played 41 games this season, surpassing his previous career high of 25, and posted a career-best. “We accomplished what we wanted to in getting a split in Florida, but now we have to use the three games at home to our advantage”.
“I thought we should have come out of here 1-and-1”, Islanders coach Jack Capuano said. Anders Lee, a valuable complementary scorer with 15 goals this season, broke his leg in a game against the Rangers in the final week of the season. By midseason, they switched their morning skates to their Syosset practice facility, although those skates will shift back to Brooklyn beginning Sunday. His wrist shot banked wide off the end boards and right out front to Aleksander Barkov, who stuffed home an easy goal 13 seconds after Martin’s minor had expired.
The club is anxious to see if the fans in its new barn can bring the noise the way they did from 1972-2015 at Nassau Coliseum, where NY raised four consecutive Stanley Cup championship banners in the early 1980s. “There were a lot of positives we can take out of the game tonight”. Michael Matheson sent the puck to Petrovic on the right side and Petrovic fired a shot at the net. “I know we’re looking forward to the first playoff game there in its history and it’s going to be exciting”.
“It was pretty intense out there, a tighter game”, Tavares said. The 30-year-old German made 42 saves on Thursday, and couldn’t be faulted for any of the goals he allowed. Reilly Smith scored twice for Florida. “I just hung on and made the saves and did what I had to do”. They did take two of three at home against Washington a year ago before a no-show performance on the road in Game 7. “It’s frustrating, but we weren’t expecting this to be a short series anyway”, Smith said.
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Tavares, who led the Islanders with 33 goals in the regular season, was brilliant against Florida, posting one goal and two assists.
