SUNRISE, Fla. — It’s been 23 years since the New York Islanders won a post-season series, a span that has seen the team use 383 players, hire 12 coaches, even change home arenas.
No team in the NHL has waited longer to advance.
And the Islanders have two chances to end that drought.
Alan Quine scored on a power play at 16 minutes of the second overtime, Thomas Greiss stopped 47 shots and the Islanders beat the Florida Panthers 2-1 on Friday night in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinal series. The Islanders lead the series 3-2 and can wrap it up at home Sunday in Game 6.
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Roberto Luongo made 40 saves for Florida, which missed a penalty shot in the first overtime and was whistled for two penalties in the second overtime.
“We got the bounce on the power play,” Islanders coach Jack Capuano said.
The game ended at 12:16 a.m., and was the seventh consecutive playoff overtime loss for Florida — a streak beginning with the final game of the 1996 Stanley Cup final against Colorado.
The Isles’ second OT power play came when Derek Mackenzie was called for slashing at 14:31, and that would be the break New York finally needed. Quine took a pass from Marek Zidlicky and fired a blast from the right side that beat Luongo, and the Islanders swarmed the ice in celebration.
“He put it right in my wheelhouse,” said Quine, a 23-year-old rookie. “And I just ripped it.”
Frans Nielsen scored in the first period for the Islanders, and Aleksander Barkov tied it early in the third for the Panthers. The Islanders’ Calvin De Haan was called for closing his hand on the puck in the crease 7:19 into overtime, giving Barkov a chance to win it on a penalty shot — just the third in NHL playoff history.
But his backhander was easily handled by Greiss, and play continued.
“The goalie made a great save,” Barkov said. “I should have scored.”
It was the second overtime game of the series, the other being New York’s home win in Game 3. Exclude Florida’s empty-net goal that sealed Game 2, and all five games of this matchup between 100-plus-point regular-season clubs has been of the one-goal variety.
“We’ll be ready for Sunday,” Panthers defenceman Brian Campbell said.
Florida tied it 1:59 into the third, Barkov scoring on a play kept alive by Jaromir Jagr — and one that survived a challenge from Capuano as well.
Jonathan Huberdeau got knocked down in the left circle for what looked like it would become a giveaway. But Jagr retrieved the puck, played it back toward the right point, and Barkov scored off Alex Petrovic‘s pass to knot the game at 1-1. Capuano thought the play was offside, and replays showed it was extremely close but the goal held up.
The Islanders hadn’t led for any part of a first or second period in the first four games of the series — and came into Game 5 having led for only 6.9 per cent of the time that elapsed in the first four games, total.
That changed relatively early in Game 5.
Nielsen put New York on top with 6:29 left in the opening period. He started the eventual goal sequence with a shot from above the right circle that Luongo stopped. Thomas Hickey controlled the rebound, Luongo made another save — but the second rebound went right to Nielsen, who put home his third goal of the series.
It was a good sign for the Islanders. Nielsen also scored in Games 1 and 3, and New York prevailed both times.
For a long while, it looked like 1-0 would hold up. Greiss was brilliant time and again, his best save possibly coming midway through the second when he stoned a wide-open Aaron Ekblad from close range. Greiss stopped his first 26 shots of the night, giving him 71 saves in a 73-shot span going back to midway through Game 3.
Then Florida tied it, and eventually overtime would await.
NOTES: Neither of the other two OT penalty shots — by Joe Juneau for Washington against Pittsburgh in 1996 and Aleksey Morozov for Pittsburgh against Montreal in 1998 _ turned into goals. Jagr also played in both of those games. … Tampa Bay awaits either the Islanders or Panthers in the second round, that series set to start sometime next week. The Lightning finished off Detroit on Thursday; Florida would have home-ice over Tampa Bay, while the Lightning would host Game 1 if the Islanders advance. … C Vincent Trocheck (foot) returned from injury to make his post-season debut for Florida. He missed 10 games in all, last playing on March 29. … D Marek Zidlicky made his series debut for the Islanders, replacing the injured Ryan Pulock. … Former world heavyweight boxing champion Michael Moorer was at the game. … Attendance was 20,247, the first Florida home sellout of the series.
