The Florida Panthers' season is alive for at least a few more days.
After blowing a second-period lead for the second day in a row, the Panthers rallied in the third to beat the New York Islanders, 3-2, and force a Game 4 in this best-of-5 series in the qualifying round of the expanded postseason.
Just seconds after the third period began, an unforced error by Semyon Varlamov gave Florida a power play. The former All-Star goaltender played the puck outside the trapezoid behind the net for a delay-of-game call just seven seconds into the third. Florida immediately went to work on the power play and cycled the puck around the perimeter to Mike Hoffman, set up wide on the of the right faceoff circle. It's a comfortable spot for the hard-shooting winger, and he ripped a shot past Varlamov to give the Panthers their second lead of the game with 19:19 remaining.
Forward Brian Boyle added an insurance goal 2:07 later to give Florida its first two-goal lead of the series at Scotiabank Arena. Florida hung on to force a Game 4 and cut the Islanders' series lead to 2-1.
Game 4 is set for Friday in Toronto. The Panthers will have a much-needed day off after playing back-to-back games Tuesday and Wednesday.
Everything they've been harping on as a priority throughout this series, the Panthers accomplished Wednesday. They scored first and never had to play from behind against the defensive-minded Islanders. They mostly stayed out of the penalty box, and won the special-teams battle by scoring twice on power plays and denying entirely on penalty kills. Sergei Bobrovsky, who faced only 22 shots and saved 20 of them, limited his mistakes and the defense in front of him made life easier than it was in the regular season.
It was the complete effort Florida had been searching for throughout the first two games of the qualifying round.
For the second day in a row, Florida accomplished its top priority: It scored first against defensive-minded New York.
It was all playing out the same as it had Tuesday, when Florida led deep into the second period, only to watch Game 2 slip away in the final 30 minutes after the Islanders finally broke through for a goal in the second half of the second.
On Wednesday, New York tied the score once again late in the second period. Forward Anthony Beauvillier received the puck near center ice with three Panthers defenders surrounding him. The forward darted to his left and threw the puck off the side wall. As the defense chased, Beauvillier recovered his own pass and threaded a perfect cross to center Jean-Gabriel Pageau, who tied the score at 1-1 with 3:34 left in the second.
Bobrovsky was otherwise unflappable in net, only conceding in the third period when Ekblad deflected a puck into his own net. The two-time Vezina Trophy winner, who had one of the worst regular seasons in his career, has put up a .905 save percentage with a 2.67 goals-against average so far in the qualifying round. Florida has also flipped the special teams battle and is now 3 of 9 on the power play in this series. New York is 3 for 13.
In the first period, the Panthers wasted a power-play opportunity when winger Brett Connolly committed a penalty after about 90 seconds. In the second, Florida took advantage.
The Islanders got caught with too many men on the ice, and the Panthers set up in the offensive zone. First, defenseman Keith Yandle ripped a slap shot form the right point to create a prime rebound opportunity, but Evgenii Dadonov couldn't handle the bounce and New York cleared. Fifteen seconds later, the winger redeemed himself.
Hoffman ripped a slap shot, and Varlamov gave up a big bounce again. This time, Dadonov pounced and shuffled a pass across the ice to Erik Haula, who put away the game's opening goal.
A few minutes later, Florida faced a penalty kill. Just as it was ending, Islanders defenseman Ryan Pulock ripped a slap shot from the point, and Haula threw his body in front of puck. He hobbled to the bench and winced as he sat down. Defenseman Aaron Ekblad, whose penalty had given New York the power play, smothered the forward with a relieved hug.
The Panthers finished the game 2 of 5 on the power play. Now, they're 3 of 9 with the extra man this series and scored a fourth goal just seconds after a power play ended in Game 2.
For the first two games of the series, special teams _ and specifically the amount of penalties Florida committed _ dug the Panthers a 2-0 hole. On Wednesday, Florida flipped the special-teams battle to force a Game 4.
Hoffman's goal was the product of flawless execution. Varlamov gifted the Panthers a power play in the opening seconds of the third period and center Aleksander Barkov won the faceoff. Varlamov saved Florida's first shot, but the Panthers got to the loose puck and set up their offense again. Barkov got the puck near the left point and cycled it to his right to Yandle. The defenseman made one more pass to Hoffman set up wide on the right side of the right faceoff circle and the winger blew the go-ahead goal past Varlamov.
Florida was 2 of 4 on the power play at this point and got one more extra-man opportunity later in the period. As they nursed a two-goal lead for most of the third, the Panthers didn't commit a single penalty and the Islanders went 0 for 3 on the power play after going 2 for 7 on Tuesday.
In the last 2:04, the Islanders had six shots _ two blocked. The Panthers didn't have any
