Panthers 6 (EN), Islanders 3: Isles blow 3-0 lead as Engvall, Martin return

16 hours ago  /  Lighthouse Hockey

Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images


I mean, they were probably going to lose anyway, but they had to get our hopes up first. The Islanders burst out to a 3-0 lead with another slew of productive shots from the point, but the Florida Panthers steadily chipped away, like the Stanley Cup champions they are, climbing back for a 6-3 that felt oddly inevitable by the second intermission.
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It was a chippy game, with Scott Mayfield leveling A.J. Greer from damn near directly behind in the first, Matthew Tkachuk crosschecking Semyon Varlamov, and Niko (don’t call him Mikko) Mikkola crosschecking Anders Lee in the lower back as he lay prone on the ice after doing his best to avoid Panthers goalie Spencer Knight.
Dennis Cholowski got his Isles debut — Alex Romanov sat out injured — and his first goal to open scoring in a wild first period. Kyle Palmieri made it 2-0 five minutes later after finding the rebound of his own sweet deflection. And Brock Nelson made it 3-0 at 11:41 of the first after banging in a rebound from the boards off Knight.


PUCKS ON NET! @Ford | #LGI pic.twitter.com/LXMMawZd7S— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) October 26, 2024




But Sam Reinhart got one back a couple minutes later, and Mat Barzal hit the post on an uncontested chance from the slot — to allow the Panthers to reach the first intermission trailing just 3-1. Their comeback was just beginning.
After Tkachuk scored his first of the season to get it to 3-2, Mackie Samoskevich scored what felt like an immediate backbreaker even though it only left the game tied: He streaked the length of the ice down the right wing, outside Noah Dobson and around the net to wrap around past Semyon Varlamov, who had overcommitted to the near side. Of course, it was Samoskevich’s first NHL goal.
The game winner came on a fluke — Tkachuk just sent a searching volley from the left wing boards that Varlamov easily steered away...except Sam Bennett was crashing the crease and it bounced in off his body. The Isles had a power play right afterward but couldn’t convert, then Tkachuk was left with an open shot in prime position on a Panthers power play to make it 5-3. It was pretty much over at that point, though the Panthers added a late empty netter.
Engvall, Martin Return
The Isles were also featuring a few returning members, as Pierre Engvall was recalled from his AHL banishment and Matt Martin was signed off of his PTO. Each logged around 10 minutes and I can’t say I recall much from either of them.
To make room under the stretched cap, Anthony Duclair was put on LTIR and Liam Foudy was sent to Bridgeport after appearing in just two NHL games with them. Curiously, Hudson Fasching was also recalled.
GM and information control freak Lou Lamoriello met with media to discuss these beforehand, but Patrick Roy was not made available.


#Isles , in circumvention of established NHL media guidelines, are not making Patrick Roy available before the game. Team denied requests to talk to players before game as well.— Andrew Gross (@AGrossNewsday) October 26, 2024




#LouGottaLou
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