Panthers Look to Stave Off Elimination in Game 3 vs. Islanders

The Florida Panthers aren't throwing in the towel.

With their backs up against the wall, the Panthers are confident they will be able to stave off elimination when they battle the New York Islanders in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Qualifiers on Wednesday afternoon at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.

"I definitely think we have the talent to do it with this group," Panthers forward Mike Hoffman said. "[Sergei Bobrovsky's] been playing well. We know that's going to be there for us. It's up to us guys up front to put the puck in the net."

Holding a 2-1 lead near the midway point of Game 2 after a power-play goal from Aleksander Barkov, the Panthers went on to surrender three unanswered goals - including a pair on the power play - en route to a tough 4-2 loss to the Islanders.

As it was in Game 1, the Panthers were hamstrung by penalties throughout the contest. Over the first two games of the series, the team's disciplinary struggles have led to 10 power plays to the Islanders, including a total of seven in Game 2.

"It seemed we slowed down a bit when [New York] got their power play to make it 2-2," Quenneville said. "We took some careless penalties that you can't have."

Despite the team's do-or-die game coming on the second half of a back-to-back, Quenneville said Bobrovsky will "very likely" be back in net for Game 3. In his first two starts of the series, the 31-year-old veteran has turned aside 56 of 62 shots.

For the Islanders, starter Semyon Varlamov has stopped 53 of 56 shots thus far.

"Tomorrow is a new chance," Barkov said following the loss in Game 2. "We've got to win that game. We have to have a mindset going into that game and play our best game of the series. Play smarter than we've been the last three games."

Making his second-career appearance in the postseason, Barkov has recorded a point in each of the first two games of the series and is currently in a four-way tie with Keith Yandle, Jonathan Huberdeau and Hoffman for team-lead in points (2).

Across the ice, Jordan Eberle leads the Islanders with two goals - both of them being score in Game 2 - and is one of six players on New York with two points.

"It is probably the best case, for us, is to be playing back-to-back," Yandle said of the team's bounce-back potential in Game 3. "We don't have to sit on this one for too long. We're going to get back to the hotel, get a meal, go to bed and come back and do it again. It's one of those games you want to prove yourselves."

In NHL history, only one team has ever come back from being down 2-0 in a best-of-five series, with the only other time coming all the way back in 1985.

If the Panthers want to become the second, they'll need a big Game 3.

"You don't look ahead," Quenneville said. "That's the bottom line going into tomorrow's game. Obviously we should all feel disappointed and accept that this isn't what we're all about. We want to make sure we're ready to do something about it tomorrow."

After being considered the road team during each of the first two games of the series, the Panthers will don their red jerseys as the home team on Wednesday.

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: Wednesday, Aug. 5 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