Friday, August 7, 2020

Islanders Eliminate Panthers In Game 4

     The New York Islanders eliminated the Florida Panthers from the postseason with a 5-1 victory in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Qualifier Series at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Friday. The Panthers lost the best-of-five series to the Islanders three games to one. 
     The Panthers were knocked up of the playoffs for the second straight time by the Islanders because both clubs met back in 2016. The Islanders improved their all-time record to 7-1 in best-of-five playoff series. 
     New York took the lead 1--0 with 8:28 left in the first period. Brock Nelson stripped the puck from MacKenzie Weegar on the right wing and Josh Bailey pushed the puck ahead through the right circle. Anthony Beauvillier shoveled a blind backhand shot from an acute angle below the low right circle and it slipped by Sergei Bobrovsky. 
     The Islanders made it a 2-0 lead with 4:50 remaining in the first. Ryan Pulock sent a long lead pass from his own zone to Mathew Barzal at the Panthers blue line. He skated to above the right-circle dot, passed across and Beauvillier guided the puck in from the low slot for his second goal of the contest. 
     Florida quickly scored on their first power play and cut it to 2-1 with 1:19 to go. Aleksander Barkov forwarded the puck from the top left circle to Jonathan Huberdeau below the left circle. He sent a cross-ice pass through the crease and Mike Hoffman nailed a one-time slap shot from the low right circle past Semyon Varlamov for his third goal of the series. 
     In the second period, New York regained their two-goal margin at the 8:01 mark with their own power-play tally. Devon Toews passed the puck from the right point to Bailey on the left point. He carried it to the left wing, connected a cross-ice pass to the right circle and Nelson scored on a snap shot.
     The Islanders extended their lead to 4-1 with 9:26 left of the third period. Jordan Eberle cleared the puck out of the Isles defensive zone off the boards. Barzal chased the puck in the neutral zone, raced into the Florida zone on a breakaway and snapped a shot from the low slot. 
     New York would add another goal into an empty net with 2:43 remaining. Jean-Gabriel Pageau flicked the puck into the cage from the slot area. Leo Komarov was credited with an assist on the play. 

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