The New York Islanders have a chance to wrap up their qualifying round series against the Florida Panthers today.
The Islanders are coming off a strong team effort in Game 2. As I said, the first line, especially Mathew Barzal, looked much better and the bottom-six was also getting the job done. New York’s defense was strong all around and they also got the goaltending they needed from Semyon Varlamov.
New York’s power play has actually been fairly successful in the series thus far, converting three times on their 10 opportunities. If the Islanders can manage even a decent power play going forward, it would be a huge boost for them in the postseason.
Sergei Bobrovsky is expected to start for the Panthers again in Game 3, despite a less than stellar outing yesterday.
Q says it's "very likely" that Bobrovsky starts Game 3.
We can also expect the Panthers to play with desperation but as long as the Islanders stick to their game and prioritize defensive responsibility, there’s no reason they can’t end the series today.
Puck drop is at noon.
***NOTE: We've launched a HockeyBuzz Islanders Twitter account! For anyone interested, you can follow @HB_Islanders for updates on articles, Islanders news, etc. We're starting right from scratch, so any followers would be appreciated!***
Here’s today’s poll question (results and discussion will be posted in a future article):
Thoughts on Semyon Varlamov's performance in the first two games of the series?
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