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New York Islanders vs. Florida Panthers: 5 Players To Watch For

By Kenneth Teape

Nov 27, 2015; Sunrise, FL, USA; Florida Panthers goalie Roberto Luongo (1) makes a save against New York Islanders center Brock Nelson (29) as defenseman Aaron Ekblad (5) looks on in the first period at BB&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Mayer-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 27, 2015; Sunrise, FL, USA; Florida Panthers goalie Roberto Luongo (1) makes a save against New York Islanders center Brock Nelson (29) as defenseman Aaron Ekblad (5) looks on in the first period at BB&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Mayer-USA TODAY Sports /
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New York Islanders vs. Florida Panthers: 5 Players To Watch For
Apr 4, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Florida Panthers goaltender Roberto Luongo (1) looks on during the pre game warm up against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports /

Roberto Luongo

A big reason for the Panthers having the success they had this season, winning the Atlantic Division and getting a top seed in the Eastern Conference, was because of the play of Roberto Luongo. Luongo has long been one of the better goaltenders in the NHL, and this season was no different.

Luongo finished the season with 35 victories, the sixth time he has reached that plateau in his career. He finished with a 2.35 goals against average and .922 save percentage, which ranked 16th and seventh in the NHL respectively.

Luongo is a former member of the Islanders, as he was selected by them in the first round as the fourth overall pick in 1997. He played with the Islanders for only his rookie season before he was traded to the Panthers along with Olli Jokinen for Mark Parrish and Oleg Kvasha. 16 years later he will be facing off against them in a playoff series.

Luongo will be relied heavily upon to make up for a lack of special teams play from the Panther; they rank in the bottom third of the NHL in both power play percentage and penalty killing. Here is where Luongo comes into play, as he can help balance the scales as the Panthers are top-10 in goals per game and goals against average.

Next: Experienced Defenseman Pairing

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