Game Preview: Islanders at Panthers

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (2-3-0) AT FLORIDA PANTHERS (3-1-1)
5 PM | FLA LIVE ARENA
WATCH: MSGSN | MSGGO | ESPN+
LISTEN: 88.7FM | 103.9FM
For the second time in as many days, it's game day for the New York Islanders, as they wrap up a back-to-back set when they take on the Florida Panthers at FLA Live Arena (5 p.m., MSGSN)
Both the Islanders and Florida Panthers enter Sunday night's game coming off a loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Islanders dropped a 5-3 contest on Saturday, while the Panthers lost 3-2 in overtime on Friday.

The Islanders are currently on a two-game losing streak, falling 4-1 against the Devils on Thursday and 5-3 against the Lightning on Saturday. Matt Martin, Ryan Pulock and Anthony Beauvillier scored for the Islanders in Tampa, but it wasn't enough to pull out the win.
Florida defeated the Islanders 3-1 in the season opener at UBS Arena on Oct. 13. Eetu Luostarainen, Matthew Tkachuk and Patric Hornqvist scored for the Panthers, and Noah Dobson scored the only goal of the game for the Islanders.
"We just made some big mistakes at some bad times," Cal Clutterbuck said. "When you're a team that wins consistently, you don't make those mistakes... We'll correct it. The main positive was that I think we were on our toes for most of the night and we carried the play most of the night. Sometimes it doesn't happen for you. Sometimes they make you work for it. We just have to show up tomorrow and do the same thing."

ISLANDERS NOTES:

• Ryan Pulock scored his first goal of the season against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday. Pulock has two points (1G, 1A) in five games this season. The goal brings the Islanders' NHL-leading goal total from defensemen to seven.
  - The Islanders' penalty kill has yet to concede a goal, one of just three teams in the NHL to still be perfect on the penalty kill. They are now 18-for-18 on the kill after killing three penalties against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday.
  - Semyon Varlamov is likely to start Sunday's matchup against the Panthers after Ilya Sorokin started the first leg of the back-to-back. Varlamov started one game this season, a 5-2 win over the San Jose Sharks. Varlamov saved 26 of 28 shots in the win.
  - Matt Martin scored his first goal of the season against Tampa on Saturday, his third point (1G, 2A) of the year so far. Martin scored just seven points (3G, 4A) in 71 games last season.
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  - Brock Nelson is now tied with Anders Lee for the team lead in scoring with five points, all assists, after recording a point in Saturday's game. Nelson has earned a point in four of five games this year.
  - Sebastian Aho was activated from IR on Saturday and made his season debut. Robin Salo was assigned to Bridgeport in a corresponding move.

PANTHERS NOTES:

• The Panthers lost star defenseman Aaron Ekblad to an injury on Oct. 17. He is on long-term injured reserve, but the injury is not expected to be season-ending, according to General Manager Bill Zito. Ekblad averaged 21:42 TOI/game across the three games he appeared in this year, including a game where he left mid-second period due to the injury, and scored one goal.
  - Matthew Tkachuk currently leads the Panthers in scoring, with eight points (3G, 5A) in five games. His first goal as a Panther came in the Islanders' season opener against Florida at UBS Arena, on an empty-netter. Tkachuk has three multi-point games in five games as a Panther, including a goal and an assist in their overtime loss to Tampa on Friday.
  - The Panthers recently signed veteran Eric Staal to a one-year contract. Staal has played 1,293 games in the NHL, most recently for the Montreal Canadiens in 2020-21. Sunday's game will likely be his debut with the team.
  - In Ekblad's absence, Gustav Forsling has stepped up to play the role of Florida's top defensemen, with five points (1G, 4A) in five games. Forsling averages 25:03 TOI/game, the seventh-highest in the NHL.
  - The Panthers signed Colin White in the offseason after his contract was bought out by the Ottawa Senators, with whom he played the first six seasons of his NHL career. White has four points (2G, 2A) in five games, tied for second on the team in scoring.