3 Takeaways: Isles Fall 3-2 in Loss to Florida

The sun set on the New York Islanders road trip in the Sunshine State on Sunday, as the Isles fell 3-2 to the Florida Panthers at FLA Live Arena.
The loss marked the Islanders' third straight and second in as many days in a South Florida back-to-back set.

Anders Lee (PPG) scored a pair of power-play goals for the Islanders, while Anton Lundell, Eetu Luostarinen and Ryan Lomberg scored for the Panthers.
"We just found ourselves behind in the third period again," Lee said. "It's tough, we made it a game, we put a lot of pressure on and did a lot of good things and our game is going in the right direction. We're not getting the results right now. We have to find a way to stick with it, push through this and be ready to go for Wednesday."

ISLES CHASE CATS AFTER FALLING BEHIND EARLY:

The Islanders found themselves behind early on Sunday evening, as Anton Lundell opened the scoring 39 seconds in, banking a shot off Semyon Varlamov's arm from a sharp angle.
The Panthers took a 2-0 lead midway through the period, as Eetu Luostarinen's shot deflected off Sebastian Aho's stick and past Varlamov at 9:13. Preceding the play, Noah Dobson took a puck to the throat, which took him out of the play. There was brief concern for Dobson, but the defenseman returned later in the period.
Sunday's game had a different cadence and game script. After being the aggressor on Saturday in Tampa, the Islanders spent a majority of the game at five-on-five in their own zone, getting outshot by the Panthers 24-13 at even strength. The secondary effect was that the Islanders were unable to sustain offensive zone time and generate quality chances, being held to one high danger chance at five-on-five, including none through the first two periods, per Natural Stat Trick.
"Five on five we just got to find a way to create a little bit more open ice in the offensive zone and deliver the puck," Lee said. "We had plenty of shots in previous games that created a lot of zone time and I think when we stick to that and are able to generate that it pays off for us."
Lee's first power-play goal brought the Islanders within one, but Lomberg jumped on a loose puck at the left dot and quickly slapped it by Varlamov at 2:56 of the third period. Lee's second power-play marker brought the Isles within one, but that's as close as they'd come.

POWER PLAY BREAKS OUT:

The Islanders power play went 2-for-6 on Sunday night, with Lee netting both goals in front of the net. More importantly for the man advantage, Sunday was the first time they scored since opening night.
On the first goal, Lee deflected a Mathew Barzal shot at 4:27 to put the Islanders on the board. The goal snapped the Islanders 0-for-15 stretch with the man advantage.
Lee potted a second during a five-on-three power play to start the third period, knocking in a Barzal rebound.
"We've been generating some chances and generating pucks at the net," Head Coach Lane Lambert said. "And you know, we did that again tonight. And tonight. It paid off for us."
PANTHERS 3, ISLANDERS 2
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The Islanders sterling shorthanded streak stayed intact on Sunday, as the team went 4-for-4.
Per Islanders radio's Greg Picker, the Islanders set a franchise record for consecutive kills to start a season at 22.

LINEUP CHANGES:

The Islanders made more lineup changes on Sunday night.
Some were predictable, like Semyon Varlamov playing the second night of a back-to-back, and Josh Bailey's return after sitting as a healthy scratch on Saturday night (Nikita Soshnikov came out for Bailey).
Anthony Beauvillier's absence appeared to be unexpected as the Islanders winger took warmups but did not play. Beauvillier appeared to be in some pain after scoring in Tampa and was classified as a coach's decision by Lambert postgame. Ross Johnston was inserted into the lineup and made his season debut.
Lambert jumbled his lines accordingly, with Oliver Wahlstrom skating in Beauvillier's place with Anders Lee and Brock Nelson. Josh Bailey skated on a line with Mathew Barzal and Zach Parise, while Kyle Palmieri skated with JG Pageau and Johnston.
The Palmieri-Pageau pairing was a familiar one. Per Natural Stat Trick, Palmieri and Pageau played 408:37 minutes together at five-on-five last season and were on the ice for 20 goals for compared to only 13 against.
"It's just a matter of generating chemistry and if things are not going the way we want to, we have to do something in terms of moving our guys around," Lambert said. "They understand that and, you know, I thought we generated some stuff when we started moving people around today."

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders head home to take on the New York Rangers on Wednesday night at UBS Arena. Puck drop is at 7:30 p.m. and the game will be nationally televised on TNT.