Islanders Come Hard Down the Stretch, Beat Florida Panthers

For the second straight night, the Florida Panthers got off to a slow start. Unlike the Canadiens, the Islanders did not take advantage.

Yet, as was the case Tuesday in Boston, it was Florida’s third period which ended up doing the damage.

The Islanders trailed by a pair of goals going into the third, but scored three within a span of about six minutes and rallied to beat the Panthers 4-2.

The Panthers led Boston 2-0 in the third on Tuesday and lost to the Bruins.

Florida had not lost back-to-back games since Jan. 11-13 — and had not lost two straight in regulation since late December.

Yet here they are.

The Panthers have now lost two straight, and are 1-3 on this six-game road trip after leaving South Florida on a six-game winning streak.

After being outshot 12-1 in the first, Florida quickly made it 2-0 on goals from Sam Reinhart and Sasha Barkov.

Vitek Vanecek shut out the Islanders for two-plus periods after shutting out the Sabres in his Florida debut last Saturday night.

Only Marc Gatcomb got the Islanders on the board at 6:29 with a wraparound goal.

New York then tied the score and took a 3-2 lead in a 17-second span on breakaway goals from Maxim Tsyplakov and Noah Dobson.

Florida lost defenseman Dmitry Kulikov to a right wrist/arm injury during the first when he collided with Anthony Duclair and was called for a penalty.

Kulikov did not return to the game.

NOTES: PANTHERS @ ISLANDERS

• Reinhart, who had not scored since Feb. 2, has a six-game point streak (five goals, eight points) against the Islanders dating to Dec. 2, 2023. He has a chance to extend his seven-game scoring streak against the Blue Jackets (five goals, 19 points) on Thursday in Columbus.
• The Panthers are 6-4 in the second half of a back-to-back set this season.
• Paul Maurice switched left wings on his top two lines, moving Evan Rodrigues up with Barkov and Reinhart.
• The Panthers were aiming for an NHL-best 30 wins this season when scoring first. Instead, they are now 29-4 when leading after three periods.

HOW THEY SCORED

• Panthers 1, Islanders 0 (1:00 2nd): Sam Reinhart camps out on the left post and gets a slick slot pass from Sasha Barkov and knocks it home.
• Panthers 2, Islanders 0 (4:38 2nd): Reinhart shoots from the right circle and hits Barkov in front — and the puck carries over Ilya Sorokin and through.
• Panthers 2, Islanders 1 (6:29 3rd): Marc Gatcomb is stopped on his initial shot, but with Vitek Vanecek down on the ice, comes in for the wraparound goal.
• Islanders 2, Panthers 2 (12:16 3rd): Maxim Tsyplakov picks up the puck at the blue line, drives in on Vanecek and beats him five hole.
• Islanders 3, Panthers 2 (12:33 3rd): Noah Dobson picks up a loose puck in the neutral zone off a soft clear from Uvis Balinskis, drives in on Vanecek and puts it his glove.
• Islanders 4, Panthers 2 (19:53 3rd EN): Simon Holmstrom gets the empty-net goal to ice it.

FHN’S 3 STARS OF THE GAME

• 1. Ilya Sorokin, Islanders
• 2. Noah Dobson, Islanders
• 3. Sam Reinhart, Florida

ON DECK: GAME No. 69

FLORIDA PANTHERS at COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS 

• When: Thursday, 7 p.m.
• Where: Nationwide Arena, Columbus
• Local TV: Scripps Sports — WSFL 39 (Miami/FtL); WHDT 9 (WPB); LAFF 36.3 (SW Fla)
• Streaming: Panthers+; ESPN+
• Radio: WPOW 96.5-FM2; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
• Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932, NHL App
• This Season (Panthers lead 2-0) — At Florida: Panthers 3, Blue Jackets 0 (March 3). At Columbus: Panthers 4, Blue Jackets 3 (Oct. 15); Thursday.
• Last Season: Panthers Won 3-0
• All-time Regular Season Series: Tied 26-26
• Up Next for the Panthers: Saturday vs. Washington Capitals, 5 p.m.