Islanders meet Panthers in game 1 of Eastern Conference qualifying round
Florida Panthers (35-26-8, fourth in the Atlantic Division during the regular season) vs. New York Islanders (35-23-10, fifth in the Metropolitan Division during the regular season)
Toronto; Saturday, 4 p.m. EDT
EASTERN CONFERENCE QUALIFYING ROUND: New York and Florida begin series
BOTTOM LINE: The New York Islanders and the Florida Panthers square off in game one of the Eastern Conference qualifying round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The teams meet Saturday for the fourth time this season.
The Islanders are 25-13-5 in conference matchups. New York has scored 29 power-play goals, converting on 17.3% of chances.
The Panthers are 11-8-2 against opponents from the Atlantic Division. Florida is fifth in the NHL recording 9 points per game, averaging 3.3 goals and 5.7 assists.
TOP PERFORMERS: Mathew Barzal leads the Islanders with 41 assists and has 60 points this season. Jordan Eberle has six goals and four assists over the last 10 games for New York.
Jonathan Huberdeau leads the Panthers with 78 points, scoring 23 goals and collecting 55 assists. Mike Hoffman has seven goals and five assists over the last 10 games for Florida.
LAST 10 GAMES: Islanders: 2-4-4, averaging 2.5 goals, 4.7 assists, 2.5 penalties and 7.1 penalty minutes while giving up 3.2 goals per game with an .889 save percentage.
Panthers: 4-4-2, averaging 2.5 goals, 4.1 assists, 2.7 penalties and 6.2 penalty minutes while giving up 2.4 goals per game with a .926 save percentage.
INJURIES: Islanders: Leo Komarov: day to day (undisclosed).
Panthers: Aaron Ekblad: day to day (undisclosed).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by , and data from ,.
