SUNRISE, FL — The Florida Panthers had a lot to celebrate on Sunday night after defeating the New York Islanders 6-3 at Amerant Bank Arena.
Carter Verhaeghe notched a hat trick. The Stanley Cup champions had won their third straight game. The success came on a night when the club honored defenseman Dmitry Kulikov for playing in his 1,000th NHL game a few nights prior with a pregame ceremony:
That’s where Panthers head coach Paul Maurice chose to begin his press conference. But not by sharing how proud he was of Kulikov.
He chose to start by thanking Patrick Roy and the New York Islanders.
“I’d like to thank Patrick Roy and the New York Islanders,” Maurice said. “I thought, these guys, a tough back-to-back for them. They got a whole bunch of players out of their lineup. So when we do the ceremony, they have the option to stay in their room or come out, and they came out on the bench to recognize Dmitry. Incredibly, incredibly classy thing for them to do. And we really appreciate it very much.”
Here’s the full statement:
Whether it was Patrick Roy’s doing, Lou Lamoriello’s, or Islanders’ captain Anders Lee’s decision — maybe it was collective — for them to come out for the ceremony spoke volumes to the leadership of the group.
After Kulikov received his Silver Stick, the Islanders’ players could be seen banging their sticks in support.
No. 7 is playing in his 16th NHL season and has undoubtedly crossed paths with many members of the Islanders.
The NHL family is a tight-knit one, and for the Islanders who saw Cal Clutterbuck reach that milestone last season, there’s a certain level of appreciation for a player, especially a physical one, who has longevity in this league.
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