The Islanders fell in Game 3, dropping the contest 3-2 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. This will allow the Panthers to get new life in Game 4, creating a very important game.

The Islanders faced the Panthers for the second straight day hoping to sweep them in the Qualifying Round to advance to the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Teams that go up 2-0 in a best of five series are 55-1 all-time. The one team that lost after being up 2-0 was defeated by the Islanders. After the Panthers’ push in the first period from yesterday’s game, the Islanders stayed alert of the same start up as the team is on the brink of elimination. Semyon Varlamov started in net for the Islanders again today, a surprise for many in back-to-back games.

In the first period, both teams played pretty evenly. The Islanders had many opportunities to score. Brock Nelson had a shot on net that almost trickled through the five-hole of Bobrovsky. The Islanders had two more shots than the Panthers in the first period. The rest of the period was pretty static, as the teams were eager to see who would net the first goal.
During the second, the Islanders were caught with too many men on the ice. Barry Trotz had Derick Brassard serve for the penalty and as the Islanders were on the kill, Erik Haula scored to get the Panthers on the board. Followed by the goal, the Islanders had a energetic offensive shift and Ryan Pulock hit crossbar on one of his shots.

The Islanders seemed to be relentless with shots being fired from every area of the ice, hoping that a puck would slip into the net. Aaron Ekblad was thrown in the box for interference to give the Islanders the man-advantage. The Islanders did not look as sharp on the power play like in the past games. A lot of passing happened and not enough shots were taken.
Pulock tried to get the Islanders on the board but his slap shot was blocked by Erik Haula. The Islanders tied up the period by Anthony Beauvillier skating up from center ice to feed Jean-Gabriel Pageau from behind the Panthers net. Pageau was able to tie the game at one. The Panthers almost got a second on the board but Nick Leddy was able to skate back and stop the breakaway.

To open the third period, Semyon Varlamov played the puck outside of the trapezoid and was given a minor penalty. The Panthers took advantage of the Islanders mistake and took the lead 2-1. Shortly after, the Islanders turned the puck over which allowed Brain Boyle to give the Panthers an even bigger lead. Jordan Eberle and Mat Barzal created some play in front of the Panthers crease but Bobrovsky was able to stop the puck. The referees missed a too many men call for the Panthers which followed with a high stick penalty on Anders Lee. On the penalty kill, Casey Cizikas put himself on the line to block a slap shot.
They were able to kill off the penalty but once the ice became even, Trotz mixed up the lines. Brassard, Barzal and Pageau took the ice and created a scoring opportunity that was stopped. Later on, Eberle was unable to get a shot off due to an ignored slashing penalty. With less than three minutes to go, Barry Trotz decided to pull Varlamov to give the Islanders an extra man.

The Islanders created pressure which lead to Brock Nelson throwing the puck in front of the net and the puck bouncing off of Ekblad’s skate and in. The Islanders were unable to tie the game at three and the Panthers pushed a Game 4. The team is scheduled for Game 4 on Friday and the time remains unknown.

John Smark