Panthers (35-26-8 78P) vs Islanders (35-23-10 80P)

• WHEN: 4:00 p.m. ET
• WHERE: ScotiaBank Arena - Toronto, ON
• ON THE TUBE: FOX Sports Florida, NBCSN, MSG+, SN1, TVAS, NHL.TV
• ON THE DIAL: 560 The Joe WQAM (Dade/Broward); 850 WFTL (Palm Beach); WCTH-FM Thunder Country 100.3 (Florida Keys), SiriusXM Streaming 932
• SOCIALS: #FlaPanthers, #Isles, #FLAvsNYI, @LitterBoxCats, LBC FaceBook page
• ENEMY INTEL: Lighthouse Hockey
• FLA IN SERIES: Game 1 of Best-of-5 (0-0)
• LAST GAME: NYI 3, @FLA 1 - 12/12/2019
• PROJECTED STARTERS: Bobrovsky (0-0), Varlamov (0-0)
• PLAYER STATS: Florida / New York

Notes:

This is the second-ever playoff match-up between the Panthers and Islanders. The Isles won a hard-fought opening round series in six games back in 2016. The last time the Cats actually advanced in the postseason was when they vanquished the Pittsburgh Penguins to take the Eastern Conference Championship in 1996. So, are we finally due or does the long drought continue? The Islanders last playoff win was also against the Penguins, a surprising sweep in last year’s first round. The Panthers looked absolutely dreadful in Wednesday afternoon’s exhibition against the Tampa Bay Lighting. The Islanders are coming in off a 2-1 tune-up win over the New York Rangers.

Today’s Action:

• Game One: New York Rangers at Carolina Hurricanes 12 p.m. NBCSN
• Game One: Chicago Blackhawks at Edmonton Oilers 3 p.m. NBC
• Game One: Montreal Canadiens at Pittsburgh Penguins 8 p.m. NBC
• Game One: Winnipeg Jets at Calgary Flames 10:30 p.m. NBCSN