After earning a victory against their 2023 Stanley Cup Playoff adversary, the New York Islanders (9-7-6) venture to Sunrise to face the 2023 Eastern Conference Champion Florida Panthers (14-7-2).

SUNRISE, FL -- After earning a victory against their 2023 Stanley Cup Playoff adversary, the New York Islanders (9-7-6) venture to Sunrise to face the 2023 Eastern Conference Champion Florida Panthers (14-7-2). 

Puck drop from Amerant Bank Arena is set for 6:00 p.m.

The Islanders snatched victory from the jaws of defeat against the Carolina Hurricanes Thursday. Despite being limited to only 16 shots in the game, New York made the best of the few chances they got. The Islanders had answers for goals by Jalen Chatfield and Jordan Staal, with Bo Horvat and Simon Holmstrom responding in the first two periods. Pierre Engvall gave the Islanders a lead entering the third, but Jack Drury tied the affair less than a minute into the period.

While Kyle Palmieri gave the Islanders the lead back on the power play, it still wasn’t enough; Sebastian Aho tied it up with about two seconds to spare in regulation. In overtime, a period in which the Islanders hadn’t scored all season long, Mathew Barzal buried a Noah Dobson feed to give the Islanders a 5-4 win, their first against the 2023 postseason team this campaign.

Morning Skate Updates

Both the Islanders and Panthers skated at Amerant Bank Arena this morning.

Mathew Barzal missed the skate due to maintenance but is expected to play. 

Ilya Sorokin was in the starter's crease, as he'll make his 15th start of the season (5-4-5, .913 SV%, 3.10 GAA.)

The Islanders did not run lines. 

Anthony Stolarz took the starter’s crease for the Panthers, he’ll make his sixth start of the season tonight (3-1-1, .929 SV%, 1.99 GAA).

New York Islanders Lines (Projected)

Anders Lee - Bo Horvat - Mathew Barzal

Pierre Engvall - Brock Nelson - Kyle Palmieri

Simon Holmstrom - Jean-Gabriel Pageau - Oliver Wahlstrom

Julien Gauthier - Casey Cizikas - Cal Clutterbuck

Alex Romanov - Noah Dobson

Samuel Bolduc - Ryan Pulock

Mike Reilly - Scott Mayfield

Ilya Sorokin

Semyon Varlamov

Florida Panthers Lines (Projected)

Evan Rodrigues – Aleksander Barkov – Sam Reinhart

Carter Verhaeghe – Sam Bennett – Matthew Tkachuk

Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Nick Cousins

Steven Lorentz– Kevin Stenlund – Ryan Lomberg

Gus Forsling – Aaron Ekblad

Niko Mikkola – Brandon Montour

Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Dmitry Kulikov

Anthony Stolarz

Sergei Bobrovsky

Islanders Notes

Mathew Barzal stole the show for the Islanders on Thursday. His overtime winner capped off a four-point game, continuing an extended hot streak. While he doesn’t boast an active point streak, the forward has 10 points, four goals, and six assists in his last eight games.

Noah Dobson added three assists of his own against Carolina, giving him 18 points on the year, good for second on the team. His 13 helpers give him a tie for the Islanders’ lead with Barzal. The Islanders’ blueliner enters tonight with a five-game point streak against Florida, boasting a goal and four assists in that span.

Three players sit in a tie for most goals against the Panthers in their careers. Anders Lee, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, and Kyle Palmieri each have seven goals against Florida, with Lee leading the Islanders in points with 13.

The Panthers are a team that has given Sorokin fits in his career. In five career starts, he boasts a 1-3-1 record, .892 SV%, and 3.48 GAA against Florida, although his numbers largely struggle due to nine combined goals against in his first two dates with the Panthers. He won his most recent start on December 23.

Panthers Notes

After suffering numerous injuries from their Stanley Cup Final run last postseason, the Panthers have survived the early-season adversity. Florida enters tonight off a 2-0-1 road trip against Atlantic Division foes, capped off by a 5-1 win against the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday. After a scoreless first period, Florida controlled play the rest of the way, getting five different players to light the lamp. Aleksander Barkov, Evan Rodrigues, and Carter Verhaeghe each tallied a goal and assist, propelling Florida to the win.

Barkov and Sam Reinhart are leading the way offensively for the Panthers. Reinhart’s 15 goals and 28 points lead the team in those categories, while Barkov leads Florida players with 15 assists.

Barkov is Florida’s leading scorer against the Islanders by a considerable margin. The Panthers’ captain has 10 goals and 10 assists in 22 games against the Islanders, including a hat trick on April 19, 2022.

Stolarz will make his second career start against the Islanders tonight. In his lone start as a member of the Anaheim Ducks, he yielded four goals in 22 shots. Combined with a relief appearance, he is 0-1-0 with a 4.50 GAA and .818 SV%.

Betting Corner

Do you think the Islanders will beat the Panthers? Florida enters tonight’s game as the odds-on favorite to capture the victory, sitting at -190 on the money line to the Islanders’ +155. The over/under comes in at six goals, the over favored at -120 to the under at +100.

All lines are courtesy of MGM Sportsbook

How To Watch

Tonight’s game can be found on MSGSN. On the radio, tonight’s game can be found on 88.7 FM WRHU, 103.9 LI News Radio, and 1050 AM ESP

Matthew Page contributed to this report. 

You can watch Rosner talk Islanders hockey on Hockey Night in New York with co-host Sean Cuthbert live Sunday nights at 8 PM ET during the season at twitch.tv/hockeynightny.