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Get To Know The Florida Panthers, The New York Islanders First-Round Opponents

Derek MacKenzie

MacKenzie, 34, is the archetypal team player: a hard-working veteran who has led-by-example (in terms of work ethic) his entire career.

The fourth line centerman is a tad undersized (5’11”) and lacks any umph scoring prowess, but is solid on the draw, is one of Florida’s most trusted penalty killers and plays a very defensive-oriented game.

Take it from coach Gerard Gallant: “You don’t judge MacKenzie’s game by goals or assists, ever.” Rather, his role is that of a defensive forward: “MacKenzie’s role, one he fully embraces, is as a defensive forward. He centers Florida’s fourth line, is on the Panthers’ top penalty-killing team,” the Miami Herald wrote in an article.

Expect parallels to be drawn between MacKenzie and Cal Clutterbuck all series long.

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Justin Weiss is a staff editor at Elite Sports New York, where he covers the New York Islanders and Brooklyn Cyclones. In 2016, he received a Quill Award for Freelance Journalism. He has written for the Long Island Herald, FanSided and YardBarker.