The Florida Panthers managed to stop the bleeding tonight after losing seven of their last eight contests with a 4-2 victory against the New York Islanders.
The Islanders got on the board first with an impressive passing play between John Tavares, Josh Bailey, and finally Anders Lee.
Lee would score again in the second period, but he was the only Islander capable of solving goalie Al Montoya tonight. The Panthers backup kicked out 32 of 34 shots in his first victory in nearly a month. He has a 2.88 GAA and .896 save percentage in 15 contests this season.
His efforts contributed to the Islanders dropping their third straight game. This is their third three-game losing streak of the season and they’ve bounced back before, but this one is a bit more troubling. The Islanders are missing a key forward in Kyle Okposo, who reportedly has a detached retina, and they need to demonstrate that they are capable of overcoming this level of adversity.
For the Panthers, this is a step in the right direction as they try to cling onto their fading playoff hopes, but they have a lot of work ahead of them. The Washington Capitals also won tonight in the battle for a Wild Card spot, so Florida only gained on the idle Boston Bruins. Florida is seven points shy of the playoff spot.