ELMONT, N.Y.– After losing the first game of their back-to-back, the Florida Panthers will look to rebound when they clash with the New York Islanders at UBS Arena on Sunday.
The Panthers enter the matchup leading the Atlantic Division at 41-23-3, while the Islanders are six points out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference and already in do-or-die mode at 29-28-8.
“It’s best when you don’t have a choice,” head coach Paul Maurice said of regrouping. “They (the Islanders) are six back now, if that’s accurate, of the playoffs. We’ll get their [best]. That’s a slightly bigger number than one or two, so we’ll get everything they have.”
On Saturday, Florida suffered a 3-1 loss at Montreal.
With the Canadiens on the cusp of a playoff spot, the Panthers found themselves on their heels early at Bell Centre, falling behind 2-0 in the first period. After Mackie Samoskevich lit the lamp to cut the deficit to 2-1 in the second period, Christian Dvorak locked down the 3-1 win for Montreal in the third.
Carrying a hot stick, Samoskevich has scored six goals in his last 11 games.
“Just keep doing what I’m doing,” said Samoskevich, who’s flourished both on the second line and top power-play unit. “Learn from the bad ones and learn from the good ones as well. There’s always something you can learn from games. I think just stick with the process."
After losing forward Anton Lundell for roughly 10 minutes in the first period against the Canadiens with an apparent ailment, Maurice said he expects the young Finn to play on Long Island.
“He was good enough to finish the game, so that’s usually a really good sign,” Maurice said of Lundell, who’s produced 15 goals this season. “We’ll see when we get off the airplane.”
Backing up Bobrovsky in Montreal, Vitek Vanecek will man the crease against New York.
Acquired from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for a prospect prior to last week’s trade deadline, the 29-year-old stood on his head during his first game as a Panther, posting a 21-save shutout in a 4-0 win over the Buffalo Sabres back on March 8 at Amerant Bank Arena.
In his career against the Islanders, Vanecek owns a 5-3-0 record.
Further lineup information won’t be known until Maurice’s pre-game media availability.
Across the ice, the Islanders are looking to get back into the fight.
Chasing down a playoff spot, New York hasn’t done itself any favors as of late while dropping each of its last three contests, including a 2-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Friday.
Already ranking 28th in the NHL on offense with an average of 2.66 goals per games, the Islanders have scored just one goal in each game of their current three-game skid.
Anders Lee leads New York in scoring with 45 points (25 goals, 20 assists), while Bo Horvat sits second with 44 points (21 goals, 23 assists). Traded to the Colorado Avalanche last week, Brock Nelson had ranked third on the team with 43 points (20 goals, 23 assists) prior to being dealt.
Missing an extended period due to a reported heart issue, defenseman Mike Reilly will return to action against the Panthers, playing his first game for the Islanders since Nov. 1.
"He's been practicing well lately and he's ready to play," New York head coach Patrick Roy told the team’s website. "I want him to keep things simple from the start, not trying to do too much. He's a good puck mover, skates well with the puck, these are the things I want to see him do."
Appearing in 12 of the last 13 games for the Islanders, Ilya Sorokin could once again get the nod in net. Tasked with a heavy workload, the 29-year-old has gone 24-20-5 with a .907 save percentage and three shutouts this season.
The final meeting between these two teams this season, the Panthers have come out on top in each of their two previous tilts with the Islanders, earning a 6-3 win both times.
In the season series, 14 different Panthers have recorded at least one point.
THEY SAID IT
“They beat us. They’re in a fight for their lives and played their butts off tonight. That should be the story here. I don’t want to give you an honest assessment of our game because I don’t want to be disrespectful of a big win for them.” – Paul Maurice on Saturday’s loss to the Canadiens
“They’re a really good team and tried to send a message. I think it’s just up to us to get mentally ready for every game and think it’s a playoff game every game.” – Carter Verhaeghe on Saturday’s loss to the Canadiens
FIVE CATS STATS
- Carter Verhaeghe has scored three goals in two games vs. New York this season.
- Aleksander Barkov has logged 26 points (11G, 15A) in 26 career games vs. the Islanders.
- The Panthers rank fifth in the NHL with a .591 points percentage on the road.
- The Panthers are 11-2-1 when Evan Rodrigues scores a goal this season.
- Vitek Vanecek owns a .904 save percentage in his career vs. New York.
PROJECTED LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
Forwards
Carter Verhaeghe – Aleksander Barkov – Sam Reinhart
Mackie Samoskevich – Sam Bennett – Evan Rodrigues
Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Jesper Boqvist
A.J. Greer – Nico Sturm – Jonah Gadjovich
Defensemen
Gustav Forsling – Seth Jones
Niko Mikkola – Dmitry Kulikov
Uvis Balinskis – Nate Schmidt
Goaltenders
Vitek Vanecek
Sergei Bobrovsky
RECENT TRANSACTIONS:
- March 7: Acquired forward Brad Marchand from the Boston Bruins for a conditional 2027 second-round selection
HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN
When: Sunday, March 16 at 7:30 p.m. ET
Where: UBS Arena – Elmont, NY
TV & Streaming: Panthers+, WSFL-TV, WHDT, WFTX, ESPN+ (out of market)
Radio: 560 WQAM (Dade/Broward); 1230 WBZT-AM & 1 WZZR-FM (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); Panthers App; SiriusXM App & Streaming 931
Cats on Tap: Click Here
