It was a slow start to the opening period for the Florida Panthers. The Islanders caught them off guard abruptly, testing Sergei Bobrovsky early on. On the other hand, the Panthers found it rather difficult creating chances at the other end of the ice.
Within the opening five minutes, Evgenii Dadonov took an offensive-zone penalty, sending the Isles to their first man advantage of the afternoon. The home side managed to score but it was quickly waved off as the refs deemed that Anders Lee made contact with Bobrovsky.