NHL Playoffs: Panthers vs. Islanders Game 3 recap, full highlights

Highlights from the New York Islanders‘ 4-3 overtime victory in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference first round playoff series against the Florida Panthers.

The New York Islanders provided a reason for their home crowd to celebrate the first ever playoff game at the Barclays Center with a 4-3 overtime win over the Florida Panthers to take a 2-1 lead in their Eastern Conference first round playoff series.

Both opening games in Florida featured a frenetic tempo, and that continued on Sunday. For the third consecutive game, the Panthers got on the board within the first five minutes and held a 1-0 for the majority of the first. Reilly Smith continued his tremendous series with his fourth goal of the postseason to lead all players across the NHL.

Florida came out fast again in the second period, and Aleksander Barkov doubled the lead just over a minute in, with another nice setup from Smith, just seconds after a New York penalty kill. The Panthers nearly extended the lead even further two minutes later, but had a goal disallowed with Jonathan Huberdeau just inches offside, which would end up generating some momentum for the Islanders.

Things got wild after that with open end-to-end play. New York took advantage of a five on three at the 5:21 mark, with Ryan Pulock rocketing a shot past Luongo. However, New York’s defensive miscues continued to pile up, as Nick Bjugstad put in a rebound from a Smith shot two minutes later.

Just four minutes after that, Florida’s lead was back at one on Shane Prince’s goal. New York’s top line produced another goal with three minutes to go in the period, with Frans Nielsen scoring his second goal of the series to even things at three.

Both teams needed to clean up the defensive mistakes heading into the third, and play tightened up considerably after the intermission. Roberto Luongo and Thomas Greiss each made some nice saves in the third to send the game to overtime, the second game of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs to require extra time.

All of the early overtime chances belonged to the Islanders, with Luongo initially turning away several shots. Thomas Hickey then ended the game at the 12:31 mark on a defensive breakdown from Jaromir Jagr to put the Islanders up 2-1 in the series.

While the Panthers ended Taveras’ six game goal streak, the Islanders found other sources of offense and now have a chance to go up 3-1 before heading back to Florida.

Three stars

3. Thomas Hickey, D, New York. In addition to game-winning goal, played strong defense against the much bigger Jagr and Barksov in overtime.

2. Reilly Smith, RW, Florida. Proving to be too much for New York defense to handle and played a part in all three Florida goals. 

1. Ryan Pulock, D, New York. 21-year-old made his mark with a stellar game, including a goal and an assist.

Full Highlights

"The home crowd is settled when the @FlaPanthers score first. #FLAvsNYI #StanleyCuphttps://t.co/NdfVOwh633— #StanleyCup Playoffs (@NHL) April 18, 2016"

"Pouncing on rebounds. Barkov has his first. #FLAvsNYI #StanleyCuphttps://t.co/6gBd97kwlH— #StanleyCup Playoffs (@NHL) April 18, 2016"

"This goal tied us up in Brooklyn. Don’t Miss A Moment. #StanleyCup https://t.co/asDu3MsmD9— NHL on NBC (@NHLonNBCSports) April 18, 2016"

Next game

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