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The Florida Panthers know they can't afford to fall into a 2-0 hole.

Following a 2-1 loss to the New York Islanders in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Qualifiers, the Panthers will look to pull even in the best-of-five series when they kick off a back-to-back set at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Tuesday afternoon.

"I think every game's obviously crucial, but the game tomorrow is our do-or-die," Panthers forward Mike Hoffman said after Monday's practice. "You don't want to go down 2-0 in a best-of-five series. We're going to be playing as hard as we can and pretending this is a game we're playing our lives for."

Sergei Bobrovsky shined in net for the Panthers during Game 1, stopping 26 of 28 shots to keep the game within reach up until the final buzzer. In front of him, Florida's defensemen limited New York to a mere six high-danger shot attempts.

MacKenzie Weegar described Bobrovsky's performance as "amazing."

"We need him to do that every single night," the Panthers defenseman said. "I thought we let him see a lot of pucks. We were boxing out a little more, giving them some shots on the outside. His rebound control, that kind of stuff that he kind of focuses on, were great. His little things were great. I think going into Game 2 we're going to do the same thing, limit as many chances from the slot."

While the Panthers succeeded in pushing the Islanders to the outside, they also struggled to get into the high-danger areas of the ice themselves. Finishing with just 21 scoring chances, they know they'll need to up the pressure in Game 2.

That being said, Panthers appeared to turn a corner against New York in the second period.

After being held to just 15 shot attempts in the first period - likely a result of taking a few too many penalties - they notched 24 in the second. Despite being down 2-0 after 40 minutes, Florida got a late spark when Jonathan Huberdeau lit the lamp 22 seconds into the third period to halve the deficit to 2-1.

"The second part of the game, I thought we were much better," Hoffman said. "We had more control and puck possession in the offensive zone… Once you do get the puck you obviously want to hold onto it. [The Islanders] play a tight game inside the house and the hash-mark area. It's going to be on us to move the puck around and get shots through when it's available."

For New York, Semyon Varlamov made 27 saves to earn the win in Game 1.

"I think we got better once the game went on," Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov said following Saturday's loss. "The second, third period were good. We were putting a lot of pressure on them. Obviously, Game 2 starts from 0-0.

"We've got to keep doing that, what we did in the second half of the game. [If we] keep getting better, keep building on that, we should be fine. We're really excited… Not the result we wanted, but we're going to get better from this."

In terms of lineup changes, the Panthers could have at least one heading into this rematch. After being a late scratch in Game 1, Lucas Wallmark practiced with the team on Monday and could potentially make his way back into action.

Acquired from Carolina at the trade deadline in February, the 24-year-old forward registered a goal and an assist over seven games with Florida before the pause.

"We're always looking at discussing lineups and lineup changes," Panthers coach Joel Quenneville said. "It's something you're looking at. We'll see what happens."

For the Islanders, the biggest question mark heading into the game is the status of veteran defenseman Johnny Boychuk. The 36-year-old exited Game 1 early in the second period after absorbing a hit while attempting to enter Florida's zone.

"If he's not able to go, I think we have guys who can fill in pretty quickly," Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield told NHL.com's Brian Compton.

If Boychuk can't go, expect to see either veteran Andy Greene or rookie Noah Dobson slot in on the blue line. At 37, Greene already has 50 games of playoff experience to his credit, while Dobson, 20, has appeared in 34 total NHL games.

After this tilt, the two teams will meet again for Game 3 at noon on Wednesday.

"We'll be ready to go," Quenneville said. "We're only focused on tomorrow's game. Then you're talking about [Game 3] after that game. Our mindset is only on the first game. That's going to be totally where their minds are going to be at."

PANTHERS NOTES

-- Both in their first season with Florida, Brian Boyle (114) and Anton Stralman (104) have each competed in over 100 Stanley Cup Playoff games. The two veterans also reached the Stanley Cup Final together back in 2014 and 2015.

-- Mike Hoffman posted 59 points during the regular season, including a team-leading 29 goals. The 30-year-old winger also led the team in shots on goal (214) and was tied with Evgenii Dadonov for the lead in goals on the power play (11).

-- Jonathan Huberdeau led the Panthers in scoring during the regular season with 78 points (23 goals, 55 assists). A 2020 NHL All-Star, the 27-year-old also led the team with 21 multi-point performances, including four four-point contests.

-- Aleksander Barkov finished second on Florida with 62 points (20 goals, 42 assists) during the regular season. The 24-year-old also led the club's forwards in average ice time (20:01) and won a career-best 54.28 percent of his faceoffs.

-- In his first season with the Panthers, Noel Acciari netted a career-high 20 goals, including back-to-back hat tricks in December. The 28-year-old also posted 27 points, 121 hits and led all NHL forwards in blocked shots (103).

-- Acquired from Carolina at the trade deadline, Erik Haula registered two assists in seven games with the Panthers before the pause. In 44 career playoff games, the 29-year-old forward has racked up nine goals and 13 assists for 22 points.

-- Sitting at 118 wins, Joel Quenneville needs just five more to tie Al Arbour for second place on the NHL's all-time playoff victories list among head coaches.

HOW TO WATCH / LISTEN

When: Tuesday, Aug. 4 at 12 p.m. ET

Where:Scotiabank Arena - Toronto, ON

TV:FSF, NBCSN

Stream: FOX Sports GO

Radio: 560 WQAM (Dade/Broward); 640 WMEN (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); 1370 WAXE (Treasure Coast); SiriusXM Streaming 932