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It was J-G Pageau who skated to the faceoff circle for the Islanders with just over a minute left in the third period of a one-goal game against the Florida Panthers on Saturday evening. A member of the Islanders since February, when the organization acquired him from the Senators in exchange for a haul of …
It was J-G Pageau who skated to the faceoff circle for the Islanders with just over a minute left in the third period of a one-goal game against the Florida Panthers on Saturday evening.
A member of the Islanders since February, when the organization acquired him from the Senators in exchange for a haul of top draft picks, Pageau still was looking for his first real win with his “new” team after enduring a seven-game slide upon his arrival.
The Islanders put their faith in Pageau to finish out the 2-1 victory in Game 1 of the best-of-five qualifying round series with the Panthers, in which the 5-foot-9 center shined with a goal on four shots in 13:07.
“I really think that little break gave me the chance to learn the system, get to know the guys more and I feel very lucky to be part of this family,” Pageau said on a Zoom call following the win. “I really feel like this is a brotherhood and to be part of it, I feel very lucky.”
The 27-year-old Pageau was a standout among the Islanders’ middle six forwards, who rose to the occasion and combined for one goal, two assists and 14 of the Islanders’ 28 shots.
“Pager is able to elevate his game,” Islanders coach Barry Trotz said. “I think he feels a bigger part of it. The guys know what a good player he is, he’s smart, he’s quick, he always raises his game, he’s extremely competitive.
“That’s what we were looking for, we were looking for someone with a good hockey IQ and a high competitive level at center ice and he’s fit that bill.”
The win also came on the heels of a 27-save performance from goaltender Semyon Varlamov. But the Panthers battled for 60 minutes, challenging the Islanders with an early third-period goal from Jonathan Huberdeau that made it a one-goal game. The Islanders remained level-headed and finished the job.
The Panthers came out strong from the beginning, putting Huberdeau, Aleksander Barkov and Evgenii Dadonov out on the ice to start the game. Nevertheless, it was the Islanders who set the pace from puck drop.
The Islanders carried their momentum from Wednesday’s exhibition win over the Rangers right into the first period Saturday, holding the Panthers without a shot on goal through nearly the first 10 minutes.
From the left corner, Derick Brassard fed a crashing Pageau for the tip-in past Panthers netminder Sergei Bobrovsky to put the Islanders up 1-0 at the 12:00 mark.
“It’s always fun to score a goal and to get on the board,” Pageau said of his third goal with the Islanders. “It was a perfect pass by Derick, great forecheck, I thought that the whole team did a really great job tonight on the forecheck. We were really physical and keeping things simple. The puck was bouncing a bit like a ping pong ball on the ice, but it was just fun to be out there.”
The second period took a turn when Panthers defenseman Mike Matheson laid a late and high hit on Johnny Boychuk that sent him down to the ice hard and then into the locker room for the remainder of the game. After a review, the penalty was reduced from a five-minute major to a two-minute minor, but still gave the Islanders their third power play of the game.
Maintaining control through the man-advantage, the Islanders circulated the puck to Anthony Beauvillier for a one-timer that went five hole on Bobrovsky at 3:39 of the second period to make it a two-goal game. Florida ended up outshooting the Islanders 12-9 in the second.
The Panthers wasted no time in the third, crashing on Varlamov as Huberdeau found the back of the net 23 seconds in to make it 2-1. But the Panthers couldn’t finesse another as the Islanders held their ground.
“I think it felt good for everyone,” Pageau said. “We’re all competitors in this group, and I thought everyone felt pretty good. We all showed up and we played a solid game.”
