NY Islanders host defending Stanley Cup Champion Panthers at UBS Arena

The New York Islanders will play the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers at UBS Arena on Sunday night, aiming to snap a three-game winless streak (0-2-1) after falling 2-1 in overtime to the Edmonton Oilers on Friday night. The Islanders are as close to a playoff spot as they are the bottom of the Eastern Conference, trailing the New York Rangers by six points, with two games in hand. The Panthers enter the game with 85 points, tops in the Atlantic Division.

Defenseman Mike Reilly, who had a heart procedure earlier this season, is expected to make his inspiring return, based on pairings at the morning skate. The 31-year-old has not played since Nov. 1st in Buffalo and has skated in 11 games this season. Defenseman Adam Pelech, who blocked a shot off his skate in OT versus Edmonton, did not participate.

Bo Horvat scored the only goal for the Islanders on Friday, who have scored just one goal in each of their last three games. Ilya Sorokin delivered 33 saves in a solid performance, but the team's power-play struggled, going 0-for-3 after going 0-for-8 against the LA Kings on Tuesday. Florida, meanwhile, fell 3-1 to the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday. Mackie Samoskevich scored for the Panthers, and Sergei Bobrovsky made 12 saves on 15 shots. Vitek Vanecek, who Florida acquired from the San Jose Sharks on March 5, is expected to get the start for Florida.

The Islanders dropped both games against Florida this year, each by scores of 6-3. The first came on Oct. 26 at home at UBS Arena, and the most recent was Feb 2 in Florida, in a game started by Jakub Skarek. This will be the first time the Islanders see defenseman Seth Jones in a Panthers uniform. Meanwhile, forward Brad Machand, acquired at the deadline, is still not ready to debut with Florida as he works his way back from an upper-body injury.

For the Isles, a player to watch is Pierre Engvall, coming off one of his stronger games on Friday night, which even earned him a shift in overtime. Engvall has struggled to find consistency in his game all season, leaving head coach Patrick Roy frustrated. Also, captain Anders Lee, who leads the team with 25 goals, is two points away from 500 in his career and one point away from tying Derek King for 13th on the all-time list with 499.