The Florida Panthers (13-12-2) will conclude a disappointing six-game homestand when they host the rising New York Islanders (16-10-3) late this afternoon at Amerant Bank Arena.
Sam Bennett (1G/3A), Brad Marchand (1G/3A) and Carter Verhaeghe (2G/1A) combined for eleven points in Florida’s wild 7-6 overtime victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets that saw Bennett take a pass from Marchand and beat Elvis Merzlikins with four seconds to go in the extra session. Seth Jones had a goal and an assist, Anton Lundell and Evan Rodrigues also scored and Sergei Bobrovsky posted his 11th win, despite giving up six goals on 31 shots.
Like the Panthers, the Islanders also played yesterday, blanking the Tampa Bay Lightning by 2-0 count at Benchmark International Arena. Ilya Sorokin stopped all 32 shots to post his third shutout of the season, tying the Islanders’ franchise record (25) for career shutouts held by Glenn “Chico” Resch. Calum Ritchie scored in the third period and Casey Cizikas added an empty-netter with two seconds left as New York, who is on a three-game winning streak, beat the Bolts for the second time in four days.
- WHEN: 5 p.m. ET
- WHERE: Amerant Bank Arena – Sunrise, FL
- ON THE TUBE: Scripps, MSGSN
- ON THE DIAL: 104.3 WQAM (D/B), 106.3 ESPN (PB), Thunder 100.3 (Keys)
- SOCIALS: #TimeToHunt, #Isles, #NYIvsFLA, @LitterBoxCats, LBC FaceBook
- ENEMY INTEL: Lighthouse Hockey
- FLA IN SEASON SERIES: Game 1 of 3
- LAST MEETING: @NYI 4, FLA 2 (Recap) – 3/16/2025
- NEXT MEETING: March 1, 2026
- PROJECTED STARTERS: Florida: Tarasov (2-4-1 .907 / 2.67 0SO) New York: Rittich (6-2-1 .901 / 2.61 1SO)
- PLAYER STATS: Florida / New York
Sunday in the Atlantic (Standings/Panthers Playoff Chances)
- St. Louis (10-12-7 64P) at MONTREAL (15-9-3 33P) 7 p.m.
Idle: TBL (34P), BOS (34P), DET (33P), TOR (30P), OTT (30P), BUF (26P)