The seventh game of an NHL season is far too early for a team to be approaching must-win territory. But considering what awaits the New York Islanders in their eighth game, it's a good thing they won Friday night. The Islanders will look to complete a back-to-back sweep of Eastern Conference contenders on Saturday night when they host the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers in Elmont, N.
Y. The Islanders squandered three one-goal leads against the host New Jersey Devils on Friday before Bo Horvat scored 1:09 into overtime to cap a 4-3 win. The Panthers, in turn, are coming off a 3-1 victory over the New York Rangers on Thursday.
The Islanders' up-and-down game was symbolic of an inconsistent start to the season for New York, which has been shut out three times and scored at least four goals in each of its other four contests. Getting goals from four players in an overtime win was doubly encouraging for the Islanders, who will be without first-line left winger Anthony Duclair for four to six weeks due to a lower-body injury. The Islanders' three regulation goals Friday were a result of being aggressively near the net.
Brock Nelson and Kyle Palmieri scored the first and third goal, respectively, by redirecting shots by defensemen Adam Pelech and Alexander Romanov. In between, captain Anders Lee scored after putting back the rebound of a shot by Noah Dobson. "We were trying to get more pucks and bodies towards the net," Horvat said.
"Guys were getting sticks on it. Th.