Panthers edge Islanders in Maurice's debut as coach

ELMONT, N.Y. -- The Florida Panthers won Paul Maurice's debut as coach, 3-1 against the New York Islanders at UBS Arena on Thursday.

"It was a fun bench to be behind," Maurice said. "They're serious, they're hardworking and they're very intense, but they're also very funny guys. I enjoyed it."
Matthew Tkachuk scored in his debut for Florida. Sergei Bobrovsky made 31 saves.
"It's nice to get the first one, but goal or not, that's how I want to play," said Tkachuk, who was acquired in a trade with the Calgary Flames for Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar on July 22. "It's the team I want to play on. … I was saying earlier how quick it's taken us to get [together] as a team, and I know after one day I feel like I played with these guys for 10 years. It wasn't an adjustment. I barely even played in the preseason, so it's just a credit to the guys and the environment I'm surrounded in. I'm just so lucky."

Noah Dobson scored, and Ilya Sorokin made 26 saves for New York.
"We created quite a bit," Islanders captain Anders Lee said. "At the end of the day, you have to put the puck in the net."

Eetu Luostarinen gave the Panthers a 1-0 lead at 12:45 of the second period when he redirected a point shot from Radko Gudas past the right pad of Sorokin.
"The first goal would be kind of exactly the kind of goal that we need to develop an ability to score," Maurice said. "Net front, slot tip, low to high, back of the net."
Dobson tied it 1-1 at 3:13 of the third period, scoring on a shot from above the right circle through a screen on the power play.
However, Patric Hornqvist scored 30 seconds later on a wraparound at the right post to put Florida back in front 2-1.

"We had some momentum and they took it right away," Lee said.
Tkachuk then shot into an empty net with 1:15 remaining for the 3-1 final.
"The mindset is you've got to enjoy these kinds of games," Maurice said. "They're no fun in the regular season, especially if you're used to scoring five or six goals a night, but it looks exactly the way a playoff game is going to be. It's going to be a grinder. If you don't get the puck in deep, you're going to pay for it. All those hard things, that's the addition to our game. We think we can still be dynamic off the rush, but we've got learn how to handle this kind of game."
NOTES:Tkachuk finished with four shots, one hit and led all Panthers forwards with 22:58 of ice time. … Lane Lambert was also making his coaching debut for the Islanders.