Islanders vs. Panthers Morning Skate Report SUNRISE, FL -- The New York Islanders [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/game-day/new-york-islanders-florida-panthers-game-preview-stol] fan base may not be the biggest, but they are amongst the most passionate in the NHL. Whether it's groups like Drive 4 Five [https://www.facebook.com/groups/217341319195986/] planning trips from Long Island to different cities or the tremendous amount of meetup groups, the Blue and Orange faithful do what they can to support their squad. Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAyNjI5MjY3NjYwNjEyNjIw/image000000.jpg] Islanders fans packed the Prudential Center on Tuesday night, almost turning The Rock into a mini-home game. While Jersey isn't as far as other cities, the fans continued making their presence felt on their road trip. In Carolina on Thursday night, you could hear "Lets Go Islanders' chants before puck drop and the blue and orange crowd roar when the Islanders tallied goals, none louder than Mathew Barzal [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/players/mathew-barzal-new-york-islanders-bo-horvat-lane-lambert-thomas-hickey]'s overtime dagger. The event was organized by Islanders Meetup Charlotte. There's no question that New Yorkers turned Floridians will make their presence felt at Amerant Bank Arena Saturday night when the Islanders battle the Florida Panthers, along with the traveling fans. Follow Islanders Meetup South Florida [https://twitter.com/Islesmeetup_SFL] if you are on the trip or plan to come to Sunrise in the future. Seeing the sea of blue and orange on the road means a lot to the Islanders players. "It's really cool to have that kind of support," Kyle Palmieri [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/features/kyle-palmieri-new-york-islanders-2023-24-milestones] said. "I mean, being from that area (Smithtown, NY native), I know a lot of people have moved down to this area to get out of the weather, but it's always awesome to see that support on the road." For Brock Nelson [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/features/brock-nelson-new-york-islanders-stan-fischler-stefen-rosner], he knows how high the passion level is with this fan base. "We have a great following, I think, no matter where we are," Nelson said. "I feel like we always run into the faithful, whether it be around the town that we're in, the hotels, and they obviously show up for games on the road and what have you. "It's awesome. I think it's great, I think, it just showed you how passionate they are about the team and willing to travel around with us and support us." Noah Dobson [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/players/noah-dobson-new-york-islanders-confidence-adam-pelech-ryan-pulock-alexander-romanov] knew from Day 1 on Long Island that Islanders fans would be a special group. "It's pretty cool. It's one of the cool things about the NHL," Dobson said. "When I first came into the league, you see the amount of fans at warm-ups in different buildings. "It's unique to have such a passionate fan base that [travels] and has fans all over. It’s really special to the players to see that support.” Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAyNjI5NTc3NDM1MDYzMzA4/image000000-5.jpg] It means the world to Islanders captain Anders Lee [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/stefen-rosner/new-york-islanders-captain-anders-lee-named-finalist-for-king-clancy-memorial-trophy] when he can hear the Islanders faithful after a road goal. "It's great. I mean, there's always a solid group for all the years that I've been around," Anders Lee said. "There's always been a group in Carolina and obviously down here too. It's just always fun to see our fan base travel with us. "We scored a goal on the road, you get to hear them a little bit and have some chants, whether it was in Jersey, the other night, or whatnot. It's huge to have their support on the road." Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAyNjI5NTg4MTcyNDgxNTQ4/image000000-6.jpg] You can watch Rosner talk Islanders hockey on Hockey Night in New York [https://www.youtube.com/@hockeynightny] with co-host Sean Cuthbert [https://twitter.com/seanyhockey] live Sunday nights at 8 PM ET during the season at twitch.tv/hockeynightny [https://www.twitch.tv/hockeynightny].
