Game Preview: Islanders vs Panthers

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (41-27-5) VS FLORIDA PANTHERS (35-33-3)

1:00 PM | UBS ARENA | BUY TICKETS 

WATCH/STREAM: MSGSN | GOTHAM SPORTS APP 

LISTEN: 88.7FM | 103.9FM | ISLANDERS + UBS ARENA APP

The Islanders face the Florida Panthers in matinee action on Saturday afternoon. 

New York held off the Dallas Stars 2-1 at UBS Arena on Thursday night. Bo Horvat and Cal Ritchie tallied the Islanders’ goals, and Ilya Sorokin made 26 saves on 27 shots in the win. 

The Islanders (87 points) vaulted over the Ottawa Senators (86 points) for the second Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference on Thursday night.  

The Pittsburgh Penguins (88 points) edged out the Sens 4-3 and leapfrogged the Columbus Blue Jackets (87 points), who fell 2-1 to the Montreal Canadiens, for second place in the Metropolitan Division. Both Pittsburgh and Columbus have one game in-hand on the Isles.

PROJECTED LINES 

Here is how the Islanders lined up at practice on Friday. 

Anders Lee – Bo Horvat – Emil Heineman 
Cal Ritchie – Brayden Schenn – Mathew Barzal 
Ondrej Palat – JG Pageau – Simon Holmstrom 
Kyle MacLean – Casey Cizikas – Marc Gatcomb  
Anthony Duclair, Max Shabanov 

Ryan Pulock – Matthew Schaefer 
Adam Pelech – Carson Soucy 
Scott Mayfield – Adam Boqvist 
Isaiah George 

SOROKIN EXPECTED TO START AGAINST PANTHERS 

Sorokin is expected to start for the second straight game on Saturday afternoon. He has yet to play a game against Florida this year but is 3-3-1 with a 3.17 GAA and a .904 SV% all-time against the Panthers. Sorokin is 27-18-2 with a 2.48 GAA, .914 SV% and league-leading seven shutouts this season.

DEANGELO INJURY UPDATE 

Tony DeAngelo (lower-body) will miss 1-2 weeks, the team announced prior to Thursday’s game.  

DeAngelo suffered the injury in the first period of Tuesday’s contest against the Chicago Blackhawks.  

The Islanders defenseman has 33 points (5G, 28A), 30 hits, 67 blocked shots and 19 takeaways this season. 

BO KNOWS BIG GOAL TOTALS  

Horvat’s game opening goal was his 30th of the season and was the third straight game where the Islanders got on the board first. He achieved his fourth career 30-goal season in just 59 games this season. 

Horvat ranks third on the team with 52 points (30G, 22A) and his 30 tallies lead the Islanders this season.  

TIGHT GAMES 

The Islanders notched their 27th one-goal win of the season on Thursday night, which is the most in the NHL this season and sets a new single-season team record for one-goal victories, passing the 2014-15 season (26) mark. 

SEASON SERIES  

This is the third of three regular season meetings between the Isles and Panthers this year. New York is 1-1-0 in the season series, falling 4-1 on the road on Dec. 7 and topping them 5-4 at home on Mar. 1.

PANTHERS NOTES 

- The Panthers have lost four of their last six outings, most recently falling 3-2 to the Minnesota Wild after allowing the game-winning goal in the final five seconds of regulation on Thursday night. Matthew Tkachuk (1G, 1A) and Aaron Ekblad netted the Panthers goals, and Daniil Tarasov saved 47 shots in the loss.   

- Florida (73 points) sits in last place in the Atlantic Division, but is not officially eliminated from playoff contention yet. 

- Tkachuk has 17 points (7G, 10A) in his last 14 games, which include three assists against the Islanders on Mar. 1. The Panthers alternate captain has 25 points (10G, 15A) in 24 games this season.  

- Sam Bennett, who scored a pair of goals against the Isles in their last meeting, has nine points (5G, 4A) this month. Bennett is tied for second on the team with 54 points (25G, 29A) this year. 

- Seth Jones was recently activated off the long-term IR after missing 26 consecutive games, including the Mar. 1 loss to the Islanders, with an upper-body injury. Jones scored a goal in the first meeting between Florida and New York on Dec. 7, and has 25 points (6G, 19A) in 45 games this campaign. 

- Sam Reinhart (undisclosed, day-to-day) hasn’t played since Mar. 12. Reinhart leads the Panthers in points (61), goals (29) and assists (32) this season. He is one goal away from recording his fifth straight 30-goal season. 

- Brad Marchand (undisclosed, LTIR) hasn’t suited up since Mar. 6 and will not play on Saturday. Marchand signed a six-year extension with Florida this past offseason and is tied for second with 54 points (27G, 27A) in the 2025-26 season. 

- Anton Lundell (upper-body) will also be absent from Saturday’s contest. He last played and scored a goal against the Edmonton Oilers on Mar. 19. Lundell has earned 44 points (18G, 26A) this year. 

- Evan Rodrigues (upper-body) broke his finger against the Wild on Thursday night and is expected to miss several weeks. Rodrigues had points in each of their last two wins and ranked fifth on the team with 31 points (11G, 20A) this season. 

- Alexander Barkov (lower-body, LT-IR) has yet to appear in a game this season after tearing both his ACL and MCL in training camp. 

- On Mar. 6, the Panthers acquired Vinnie Hinostroza from the Minnesota Wild for future considerations. Hinostroza has four points (2G, 2A) in seven games since the trade. 

- Florida owns the eighth best penalty kill (81.7%) in the NHL, but the 19th ranked power-play 19.5%) this season.