After going down 1-0 within seven seconds of the opening faceoff yesterday, the Panthers bounced back and quickly took over to dominate the Blackhawks by a final score of 5-1.
Like I said in yesterday’s blog, I had no fear the Cats would not solve Chicago’s surprisingly good goaltending, as Florida pelted the net with 44 shots. Even crazier than that is the Hawks blocked an additional 19 shots. So…there was a lot of rubber flying from Florida’s side.
TODAY
The Panthers will get a taste of the opposite side of the spectrum today when the Islanders come to town.
The lowly Hawks are an easy team to get over on, but the Islanders are currently on a serious surge and are poised to present a much bigger challenge.
It will be a good test today, especially coming off another back-to-back, as the
Panthers’ site points out:
“
Arriving to Sunrise on a seven-game winning streak, the Islanders find themselves just three points out of the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference at 24-20-7.
On Saturday, New York earned a 3-2 win in overtime at Tampa Bay.
After being claimed off waivers from the Panthers on Friday, Adam Boqvist joined Kyle Palmieri in lighting the lamp for New York in regulation. Coming off the bench at the perfect time in the extra frame, Tony DeAngelo netted the game-winning goal for the Islanders.
Over the course of their winning streak, the Islanders have led 24-9 in goals.
In that stretch, their 1.29 goals allowed per game ranks first in the NHL.
“Everybody’s dialed in, obviously it’s a four-point game if it goes the other way,” DeAngelo said after the win against the Lightning. “Everyone knows where they standings are at and we have a long way to go, but these games mean a lot.”
Anders Lee and Bo Horvat are tied for first on the Islanders in scoring with 39 points apiece, while Palmieri ranks third with 34 points (14 goals, 20 assists). Missing time due to an injury earlier this season, Mathew Barzal has tallied 20 points (six goals, 14 assists) in 30 games.
After Ilya Sorokin made 28 saves at Tampa Bay, there’s no guarantee he gets a breather.
With Semyon Varlamov and Marcus Hogberg both injured, Jakub Skarek was recalled from the AHL earlier this week.
With Bridgeport in the AHL, Skarek has gone 5-11-1 with a .895 save percentage.
In their first meeting this season, the Panthers earned a 6-3 win on Long Island.”
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Go Panthers!
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