Isles Fall 4-1 to the Florida Panthers

Uniondale, NY -- The Islanders playoff hopes took another hit this afternoon with a 4-1 loss to the Florida Panthers. The Islanders scored the games opening goal, but saw their lead evaporate after the Panthers tied the game at one in the first and scored three unanswered goals in the second period. “It wasn’t a very good first two periods for us,” a frustrated John Tavares said. “We did some good things in the third period, but not good enough, especially in a big game like this.” The Islanders jumped to an early 1-0 lead in the first after PA Parenteau gave Frans Nielsen a good breakout pass. Nielsen finished the play off by firing one past Jose Theodore on the Islanders first shot of the game. The lead would last less than a period. Tyson Strachan scored off the face-off in the Islanders end to make tie the game at one late in the first period. The Panthers blew the game wide open in the second beginning with a Tomas Fleischmann goal early in the period. Kris Versteeg made it ...