In Sunrise, the Panthers grabbed a 2-0 lead over the New York Islanders on Sunday, and managed to make it work for them in a 3-2 win on Sunday.
Spencer Knight made 23 saves in the Florida win.
“We just tried to hit the ground running and play our game,” Knight said. “We’ve played a lot of close games. It’s a testament to our character and the guys in the room. We stick to the game plan. Everyone’s playing for the team and not playing for themselves.”
Anders Lee hit for a pair of power-play goals for the Isles.
“We’re close,” Islanders coach Lane Lambert said in response to a question regarding settling on a regular lineup. “We’ve got to lock it down here soon.”
Anton Lundell scored 39 seconds into the game for a 1-0 lead to the Panthers, and Eetu Luostarinen pushed it to 2-0 in the first period.
“We knew they were [going to] come hard, and we at times struggle breaking pucks out, so we spent a little more in our zone than we wanted to,” Lambert said.
Ryan Lomberg gave the Panthers a 3-1 lead lead in the third period after Lee scored his first of the game.
“Brought the puck to the net (and) gave our guys a chance,” Lee said about the power play. “Moved it up top, supported one another. All the basic stuff. It’s not too difficult. It’s hard to execute sometimes, but the concepts [aren’t hard].”
Semyon Varlamov made 29 saves in the New York loss.
“It was a pretty tight checking game,” the Isles’ Josh Bailey said. “There wasn’t a lot out there. You [have to] be patient in those situations to try not to force things, and you know, it seems like [there are] a lot of games like that.”
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