It's a pivotal swing game when the puck drops on the Islanders and Panthers for Game 5 on Friday at the BB&T Center in Florida as part of their Round 1 best-of-seven Stanley Cup playoff series.
These teams have alternated wins and losses to this point, with the New York winning Game 1, 5-3, on the road and Game 3, 4-3, in overtime in the first playoff game ever played at Brooklyn's Barclays Center.
Florida took Game 2, 3-1, at home and followed it up with a 2-1 road victory in Game 4 on Wednesday.
Alex Petrovic scored the game-winning goal for the Panthers in Game 4, while Teddy Purcell notched his second tally of the series. Jaromir Jagr collected his first point of the series -- his 200th career postseason point -- by assisting on Purcell's goal, but hasn't found the back of the net in his last 35 playoff games.
John Tavares had the lone goal for the Islanders in the loss. The New York captain has three goals and seven points in this series, while Florida forward Reilly Smith has lit the lamp four times and has eight points.
On the injury front, Vincent Trocheck (foot) is a game-time decision for the Panthers, while Marek Zidlicky will feature in the lineup for the Islanders in the place of injured Ryan Pulock (upper-body).
"It would be huge, no question about it," Jagr told NHL.com about a potential Trocheck return. "The way he's played all season, he was a great player for us and probably the biggest surprise on our team."
As for the Islanders, they're confident in their changes.
"[Zidlicky's] an experienced guy, and I think him and [Thomas Hickey] have some experience together," Islanders coach Jack Capuano said per NHL.com. "It's hard to lose another guy."
In between the pipes, the Islanders will turn to Thomas Greiss, who stopped 27 of 29 shots he faced in Game 4. The Panthers counter with veteran Roberto Luongo in the blue paint after he yielded one goal and turned aside 27 shots last time out.
Game Preview & Live Stream
Details: Islanders at Panthers Game 5
Venue: BB&T Center, Sunrise, Fla.
Time: 8 p.m. ET.
Radio: New York (WFAN 101.9); Florida (560 WQAM)
Series: Tied 2-2.
Prediction: Our predictions for this series can be found here.
Betting Odds: The latest betting odds can be found here.
Watch Online: This game can be live streamed for free here.
