Panthers at Islanders
The New York Islanders struggled mightily in front of their home fans before piecing together a 4-0-1 stretch at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. After beginning that run with a 3-0 triumph over Florida on March 24, New York will look for a repeat performance on Tuesday, when it faces the Panthers in its home finale. The well-rested Islanders collected a point for the seventh straight contest (5-0-2) with Saturday's 1-0 overtime loss to the cross-town rival Rangers.
While the seventh-place Islanders are clinging to a one-point lead over the Rangers, Florida gave up looking at the standings quite some time ago. The Panthers, who have a league-worst 32 points, fell for the third time in four outings on Saturday with a 3-1 setback to surging Pittsburgh. Scottie Upshall scored a rare goal for Florida, which begins a four-game road trip.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, Sun Sports (Florida), MSG Plus (New York)
ABOUT THE PANTHERS (13-22-6): Florida had lofty expectations after winning the Southeast Division title last season and pushing Stanley Cup finalist New Jersey to seven games in the first round of the playoffs. Needless to say, this season hasn't gone well and Tomas Fleischmann is imploring his team to finish strong. "It's the last seven games, you want to at least feel good about yourself. You want to show something and play hard,” Fleischmann said. The veteran saw his seven-game point streak come to an end versus the Penguins and mustered just one assist in two contests against the Islanders.
ABOUT THE ISLANDERS (21-16-5): Evgeni Nabokov certainly has had the Panthers' number during his career. The 37-year-old Russian turned aside all 26 shots he faced in the last outing to record his second blanking against Florida while improving to 7-3-1 lifetime versus the club. Nabokov, who finished with 19 saves in the hard-luck loss to the Rangers, has yielded one only goal in five of his last six outings.
OVERTIME
1. New York C John Tavares has recorded a goal and an assist in his two meetings with Florida.
2. The Panthers have failed to convert on the power play in their last two games (0-for-6). Florida had scored with the man advantage in its previous five contests (7-for-14).
3. New York will conclude its regular season with a five-game road trip - beginning in Toronto on Thursday.