NHL
The New York Islander travel down to Sunrise to take on the Florida Panthers for their second meeting of the season.
The Islanders travel down to South Florida to take on the Panthers. This is their second meeting of the season with the first meeting going to the Panthers in a 3-2 overtime win on October 24th.
For this match up, the Panthers will honor their former owner, Bill Torrey, who passed away on May 2nd of this year. Additionally, he also owned the Islanders during the early 80’s when they won four straight Stanley Cups.
Tale of the Tape
New York (8-5-2)
The Islanders are coming off of a 4-2 loss at the hands of the Tampa Bay Lightning. However, they currently sit second in the Metropolitan Division and should not be taken lightly this season.
Led by Stanley Cup Champion coach Barry Trotz, this team has a bright future ahead of them with players like Josh Bailey, who leads the team with 17 points. In addition, Matthew Barzal is third on the team with 13 points. However, he only has one goal this season, which is a big shocker for last season’s rookie of the year. Additionally, this will be Barzal’s 100th career NHL game.
Despite giving up three goals, expect Robin Lehner to get the start for this match up.
Florida (4-5-3)
Florida is coming off of a 4-1 win against the Edmonton Oilers. This was their first home win of the season and their first win streak of the season. The Panthers look to build off that.
Mike Hoffman is currently running with a 10-game point streak, he extended it with two assists against the Oilers on Thursday. Additionally, Evgenii Dadonov is running wild with a 9-game point streak and 14 points in his first 12 games this season. Expect both of them to find the back of the net.
After making 26 saves, expect Roberto Luongo to get the call for this match up against the team that drafted him in 1997.
Injuries/suspensions
New York
Matt Martin is currently out with an upper body injury and did not travel with the team.
Florida
Mark Pysyk was out on Thursday but could return today.
Jaime McGinn is still recovering from back surgery.
Michael Haley is still out due to personal issues.
Derek Mackenzie is still recovering from shoulder surgery.
Projected lineups (according to NHL.com)
New York (unconfirmed)
L1: Anders Lee-Matthew Barzal-Josh Bailey
L2: Tom Kuhnhackl-Brock Nelson-Jordan Eberle
L3: Andrew Ladd-Valtteri Filppula-Leo Komarov
L4: Anthony Beauviller-Casey Cizikas-Cal Clutterbuck
D1: Nick Leddy-Ryan Pulock
D2: Thomas Hickey-Scott Mayfield
D3: Adam Pelech-Johnny Boychuk
G1: Robin Lehner
G2: Thomas Griess
Scratches: Luca Sbisa, Ross Johnson
Florida
L1: Evgenii Dadonov-Aleksander Barkov-Mike Hoffman
L2: Johnathan Huberdeau-Vincent Trocheck-Frank Vatrano
L3: Denis Malgin-Jared McCann-Nick Bjugstad
L4: Colton Scevior-Juho Lammikko-Troy Brouwer
D1: Mike Matheson-Aaron Ekblad
D2: Keith Yandle-Alexander Petrovic
D3: Bogdan Kiselevich-MacKenzie Weegar
G1: Roberto Luongo
G2: James Reimer
Scratches: Maxim Mamin
Social Media
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Photo Credit
Photo Courtesy of Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports
