Islanders and Panthers square off in Eastern Conference play

Published Mar. 27, 2026 4:11 a.m. ET
Associated Press

Florida Panthers (35-33-3, in the Atlantic Division) vs. New York Islanders (41-27-5, in the Metropolitan Division)

Elmont, New York; Saturday, 1 p.m. EDT

BOTTOM LINE: The New York Islanders face the Florida Panthers in Eastern Conference action.

New York has a 20-12-2 record in home games and a 41-27-5 record overall. The Islanders are 14-5-2 in games they score one or more power-play goals.

Florida has a 16-18-0 record in road games and a 35-33-3 record overall. The Panthers have a 30-8-0 record in games they score three or more goals.

The teams meet Saturday for the third time this season. The Islanders won 5-4 in the last matchup. Matthew Schaefer led the Islanders with two goals.

TOP PERFORMERS: Emil Heineman has scored 20 goals with nine assists for the Islanders. Calum Ritchie has four goals and three assists over the past 10 games.

Carter Verhaeghe has 21 goals and 29 assists for the Panthers. Matthew Tkachuk has five goals and seven assists over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Islanders: 6-4-0, averaging 2.5 goals, 4.2 assists, 2.9 penalties and 8.3 penalty minutes while giving up 2.5 goals per game.

Panthers: 5-5-0, averaging 2.6 goals, 4.1 assists, 3.3 penalties and 9.3 penalty minutes while giving up three goals per game.

INJURIES: Islanders: Alexander Romanov: out (shoulder), Pierre Engvall: out for season (ankle), Tony DeAngelo: out (lower body), Semyon Varlamov: out for season (knee), Kyle Palmieri: out (knee), Ryan Pulock: day to day (lower-body).

Panthers: Cole Schwindt: out (lower body), Brad Marchand: out (lower body), Mackie Samoskevich: day to day (neck), Evan Rodrigues: day to day (upper body), Sam Reinhart: day to day (foot), Niko Mikkola: out (knee), Anton Lundell: out (upper-body), Uvis Balinskis: out (foot), Jonah Gadjovich: out (upper body), Aleksander Barkov: out (knee).

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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