The Florida Panthers were eliminated from the playoffs in a 2-1 double overtime loss to the New York Islanders on Sunday.
This marked the second straight double OT game in the series and Florida lost both. The Panthers appeared exhausted at times in the extra periods, and New York had more scoring opportunities. While Roberto Luongo stopped many attempts, the Islanders simply outplayed the Panthers in the extra minutes.
In the first overtime, the teams spent the majority of the time in Florida's zone. In the second OT, the Panthers were able to control the puck a little bit more. Ultimately, Islanders' star John Tavares proved to be too much with both of his team's goals in this one. Tavares ended up with five goals in the series, and most were clutch scores.
Florida's lone score of the game came with roughly a minute left in the first period courtesy of Jonathan Huberdeau. The score was the first of the series for Huberdeau and was assisted on by Vincent Trocheck and Jussi Jokinen.
Luongo ended up with 49 saves in his 51 chances in an exceptional effort. The goalie has an up-and-down series, but did a solid job overall. Florida failed to clear the puck on many occassions, and Luongo was left to defend the net all too often without much help.
The Panthers will now begin their off-season as they look to make a quicker return to the playoffs than the last time around. Florida enjoyed its finsest season ever, but likely needs some improvements to take it all the way.
