George Richards, FHN Publisher
Down 1-0 in a short series against the New York Islanders means the Florida Panthers have little wiggle room.
Lose on Tuesday, and their chances of pulling out three consecutive wins against the Islanders to extend their season are pretty remote.
The Panthers and Islanders play Game 2 of their best-of-five Stanley Cup qualifier Tuesday at noon (FS Florida, NBCSN, 560-AM).
“I think every game is crucial,’’ Mike Hoffman said.
“But our game tomorrow, it’s really our do-or-die. You don’t want to go down 2-0 in a best-of-five series so we’re going to be playing as hard as we can. We’re going to be pretending this is a game we’re playing our lives for.”
Said coach Joel Quenneville: “In a short series, momentum is key. They have it, we have to do everything we can to recapture it and keep it. That’s our mindset: Everybody bringing more. All four games we have played against them this year, you walked out feeling ‘that wasn’t that bad a game.’ Let’s do something about it.”
On Saturday, the Panthers were hamstrung by some early penalty problems and did not get their offense going — at least a little bit — until falling behind 2-0 in the second period.
The Islanders play a sound defensive game and have the ability to shut things down.
The Panthers have been a good comeback team throughout the regular season, but failed to completely do so against the Isles in Game 1.
“I think the attitude has been great,’’ Hoffman said. “Obviously the first game is very important but there is still a strong belief within this group that we’re going to win the series.
“The game didn’t go as we planned, but there is still a lot of hockey to be played. We need to get to the net a little more, make it harder for them to defend.”
A good start Tuesday is imperative to them having success and tying things up going into Game 3 the following day.
“You know in playing the Islanders, you don’t want to open it up there isn’t going to be a lot of space in that tight game especially when they have the lead,” Quenneville said.
“They like to play with the lead, like to play that way from start to finish. We have to make sure we’re smart in how we approach the game. … If we can have a better puck possession game, open up the offense (that) can help our game.
“All facets of our game need to be strong. Special teams are going to be key. Let’s play disciplined, stay out of the box and be ready to play a hard game.”
Quenneville switched up his lineup from Wednesday’s exhibition loss to Tampa Bay, making a number of changes before Game 1.
Aside from moving Jonathan Huberdeau back to the top line with Sasha Barkov and Evgenii Dadonov, he also slid Noel Acciari up to the second line and played Dominic Toninato over Lucas Wallmark.
Quenneville said on both Sunday and Monday he was thinking about making some more tweaks moving forward to Game 2.
He did not elaborate further.
At practice Tuesday, however, it appears Aleksi Saarela jumped into a second line pairing with Erik Haula and Hoffman.
“We’re always looking at and discussing lineup changes,” Quenneville said. “We’ll see what happens.”
BACK AT IT
After doing an off-ice workout Sunday, the Panthers held what Quenneville said was a 30-minute practice Monday.
Quenneville said everyone participated in and was ready to go Tuesday.
Colton Sceviour played limited minutes in the third period Saturday but Quenneville said he was fine.
The Panthers trailing 2-0 going into the third led to reduced minutes for a number of Florida forwards — Sceviour included.
Sceviour, who is on the fourth line, played one shift in the third for 1:14; Dominic Toninato was credited with three shifts in the third but only played 1:12. Frank Vatrano got 2:45 of ice time in the third.
— Quenneville said playing two games in an empty arena have been much different than he is used to. His voice, he has found, carries.
“When you’re screaming at players or who is up, it echoes,” Quenneville said. “When the puck goes in the net, you’re not sure unless you see it.”
— The NHL announced Monday it had no positive test results for COVID-19 among the 7,013 tests taken by players, coaches, staff and those else allowed into the bubble.
“It is obviously a credit to the NHL and to both hotels for doing a great job keeping us all safe here,’’ defenseman MacKenzie Weegar said Monday.
“It is also a credit to the players for doing whatever they can to stay safe during this time. Everyone feels good around the hotel. That’s great news fo the league and for the players.”
Stanley Cup qualifier (best-of-5)
No. 10 Florida Panthers (0-1) vs. No. 7 New York Islanders (1-0)
Game 2
When, where: Tuesday, noon; Scotiabank Arena, Toronto
TV/Radio: FS Florida, NBCSN (national); 560-AM, 640-AM (WPB), 100.3-FM (Keys), 1370-AM (Vero).
Regular season records: Florida 35-26-8; Islanders 35-23-10
Season series: Islanders won 3-0
NHL regular season rankings — Goals for: Panthers 228 (6th); Islanders 189 (24th). Goals against: Panthers 224 (tie-5th); Islanders 190 (tie-25th). Power play: Panthers 21.3% (tie-10th); Islanders 17.3% (tie-24th). Penalty kill: Panthers 78.5% (20th); Islanders 80.7% (15th).
Postseason history: Islanders d. Panthers 4-2 in 2016 quarterfinals.
Game 1: Islanders 2, Panthers 1.
Goals — Islanders: J-G Pageau, Anthony Beauvillier; Panthers: Jonathan Huberdeau.
Assists — Islanders: Josh Bailey, Derick Brassard; Panthers: Sasha Barkov, MacKenzie Weegar.
Power play: Islanders 1-3; Panthers 0-1.
Goalies — Islanders: Semyon Varlamov (27 saves); Panthers: Sergei Bobrovsky (26).
Schedule — Game 3: Wednesday, noon (FSF, NBCSN); Game 4*: Friday, TBD; Game 5*: Sunday, Aug. 9, TBD.
GAME 2 PROJECTED LINEUPS
Florida Panthers
11 Jonathan Huberdeau- 16 Sasha Barkov- 68 Evgenii Dadonov
28 Aleksi Saarela — 56 Erik Haula — 68 Mike Hoffman
77 Frank Vatrano — 9 Brian Boyle — 10 Brett Connolly
13 Mark Pysyk — 55 Noel Acciari — 7 Colton Sceviour
52 MacKenzie Weegar — 5 Aaron Ekblad
61 Riley Stillman — 6 Anton Stralman
3 Keith Yandle — 19 Mike Matheson
72 Sergei Bobrovsky
60 Chris Driedger
New York Islanders
27 Anders Lee — 13 Mat Barzal — 7 Jordan Eberle
18 Anthony Beauvillier — 29 Brock Nelson — 12 Josh Bailey
32 Ross Johnston — 44 Jean-Gabriel Pageau — 10 Derick Brassard
17 Matt Martin — 53 Casey Cizikas — 15 Cal Clutterbuck
3 Adam Pelech — 6 Ryan Pulock
25 Devon Toews — 24 Scott Mayfield
2 Nick Leddy — 4 Andy Greene
40 Semyon Varlamov
1 Thomas Greiss