#Jordan Eberle’s two goals give Islanders stranglehold over Panthers

The Panthers made adjustments to their lineup that made a difference, but none that were enough to shake the Islanders off their game.

A three-goal second period propelled the Islanders to a 4-2 win over the Panthers at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto Tuesday afternoon, putting Florida’s back against the wall as the Isles secured a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five qualifying round play-in series.

It may have taken the Islanders a period to settle in and adapt, but an explosive second period and a high-octane third shut the door on the Panthers, who struggled to stay out of the penalty box throughout the game.

The Islanders went 2-for-7 on the man-advantage, which worked in their favor even when they didn’t score as most of Florida’s momentum was expunged by careless penalties. After protecting a one-goal lead for the majority of the third period in Game 1, the Islanders did the same Tuesday, but Jordan Eberle’s second goal of the day on the power play gave his team some room to breathe.

Islanders netminder Semyon Varlamov turned aside 24 of the 26 shots he faced.

Tweaking their lineup heading into Tuesday’s game, the Panthers inserted a new face in Brady Keeper into their defensive pairings and switched up their lines a bit. It led to a much more threatening start than in Game 1.

When Mike Matheson was called for a four-minute double minor penalty after high-sticking Brock Nelson at 6:18, Panthers winger Colton Sceviour intercepted a pass at the blue line for a shorthanded opportunity that Varlamov saved. But in defending the play, Beauvillier was called for slashing, which negated the Islanders’ power play and gave the Panthers a short man-advantage.

As Florida’s power play expired, Mike Hoffman’s slap shot found the back of the net through traffic to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead at 11:16 of the first. The Islanders subsequently rolled out their fourth line of Matt Martin, Casey Cizikas and Cal Clutterbuck immediately after to retake the momentum, but Bobrovsky denied Martin twice on the doorstep to maintain the one-goal lead.

Matheson was penalized again for tripping Josh Bailey at 15:26, giving him eight penalty minutes through the first four periods of the play-in series. Beauvillier rang the post from the right faceoff circle as the Islanders went 0-for-3 on the power play at that point.

The Islanders kept the puck in the Panthers’ zone for an extended period of time to start the second, but Bobrovsky strung together a series of ridiculous saves on the likes of Anders Lee and Mathew Barzal to maintain the lead.

But following a hard forecheck from Tom Kuhnhackl, who then sent a no-look, drop-pass between the legs to Martin for the put-in, the Islanders tied the game 1-1 at 6:12.

After Brock Nelson was called for hooking at 7:38, Aleksander Barkov capitalized on the Panthers’ second man-advantage opportunity and retook the lead at 7:54. But Hoffman’s hooking penalty shortly after allowed Ryan Pulock to send the puck five hole on Bobrovsky to tie the game 2-2 at 13:48.

Just over three minutes later, the Islanders built on the momentum as Eberle was rewarded for his patience at 16:27 with a quick wrist shot that beat Bobrovsky to give the Islanders their first lead of the day.

Tensions began to mount as time expired in the second period, with Jonathan Huberdeau was called for slashing and Brian Boyle called for hooking as well as a 10-minute misconduct for a kerfuffle with Scott Mayfield, who only got two for roughing.

A strong move to the net from Barzal opened the third and drew a hooking call, but the Islanders couldn’t capitalize on the man-advantage. A two-on-one even-strength chance for Lee and Barzal was then stifled by Bobrovsky shortly after.

A slashing penalty on Panthers defenseman MacKenzie Weegar at 9:10 of the third allowed the Islanders to go up 4-2 as Beauvillier’s shot in the right circle deflected in off Eberle’s leg.