3 Takeaways: Islanders Edge Panthers 4-3

The New York Islanders are coming back to Long Island with a two-game winning streak after wrapping their road trip with a 4-3 win over the Florida Panthers in Sunrise.

Facing a stiff challenge without their leading scorer in Mathew Barzal in the lineup, the Islanders rallied together on Saturday night to put up four goals from Anders Lee (PPG), Pierre Engvall, Simon Holmstrom, Julien Gauthier (GWG). The Panthers saw goals from Sam Reinhart, Matthew Tkachuk, Carter Verhaeghe, but were forced to play from behind throughout 60 minutes as the Islanders remained in the driver’s seat and held on to a 4-3 lead.  

Ilya Sorokin made 42 saves on 45 shots for the win on a night where the Islanders were out-attempted 94-54. Anthony Stolarz stopped 23-of-27 in the loss.

“We would certainly like to cut the shot total down the shot total, but our guys battled,” Head Coach Lane Lambert said. “There was a tremendous amount of commitment, the [Panthers] are a good team, they’re hard around the net and they went to the finals last year. It was a battle.”

The Islanders earned their second consecutive win and finished the road trip with a record of 2-1-0. The win boosted the Isles to fourth in the Metro with 26 points, qualifying for the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.

ISLANDERS RALLY WITH BARZAL OUT:

With Mathew Barzal a late scratch with an illness, the Islanders knew they’d need their group to step in up in order to secure a win. They got it in the form of a strong power play, solid goaltending, balanced scoring and grit in the third period to hold off the Panthers.

Despite getting off to a slow start without recording a shot on goal until the 10:00 mark of the opening frame, the Islanders were able to jump on the board first.   

The power play stayed red hot on the road, going 1-for-2 on the night and scoring in a seventh-straight road contest. Kyle Palmieri directed the puck toward the net from the left dot for Anders Lee to tip it in for the first goal of the game at 12:36.

The Panthers didn’t take long to respond. Sam Reinhart, who leads the Panthers with 16 goals, joined the rush and shelfed one past Sorokin to knot the score at one apiece 66 seconds later.

Pierre Engvall scored in his second straight game, buring a feed from Alexander Romanov to take a 2-1 advantage at the 4:37 mark of the second period. Building off that momentum, as  Horvat led the rush into the Panthers zone to ignite a solid sequence for the Islanders that resulted in Simon Holmstrom tapping it home in front of the crease to make it 3-1. Holmstrom set a new career-high with his seventh goal of the season, needing 22 games to achieve that mark after recording six goals through 51 games of his rookie season.

Matthew Tkachuk responded to get one back for the Panthers, depositing a feed from Carter Verhaeghe at 13:14 of the middle frame, but the Islanders were able to come out in the third with some firepower.

Horvat won the draw in the Panthers zone, as Julien Gauthier wristed a shot from the top of the right circle at 3:43 to give the Islanders a two-goal cushion in the third. Verhaeghe scored at 9:36 of the third stanza to make it 4-3, but the Islanders held on to win.

“It’s huge,” Gauthier said after the win. “We gave up a lot of leads this year, so it was fun to close one out and be strong until the end.”

Sorokin made 18 saves in the third frame alone, including a three-save sequence when the Islanders needed it most, stifling a Steven Lorentz rebound attempt in the third period.Sorokin also came up big for the Islanders in the early moments, notably making a desperation glove save on Evan Rodrigues after Rodrigues hit the post on a backdoor chance.

"It's not always miraculous saves, he makes a lot of things look easy," Lee said. "His rebound control, knocking out a play on a shot, giving us a whistle, just all the little things. He's our back backstop back there and did a wonderful job tonight.”

GAUTHIER NETS FIRST AS AN ISLANDER

Julien Gauthier is starting to develop his rhythm and find his groove, burying his first goal as an Islander that held as the game-winner, while recording his first multi-point game of the season against the Panthers.

The 26-year-old skated in his sixth game of the season starting the game on a line with JG Pageau and Simon Holmstrom, but switched with Oliver Wahlstrom on the top line midway through the game.

He proved to fit in seamlessly on a line with Anders Lee and Bo Horvat. Up 3-2 in the third period, Horvat won the draw in the Panthers zone, as Julien Gauthier wristed a shot from the top of the right circle to give the Islanders a cushion in the form of a two-goal lead. The goal marked his first as an Islander and 15^th of his career.

Gauthier also recorded the primary assist on Holmstrom’s goal that gave the Islanders a 3-1 advantage.

“He did a wonderful job forechecking, staying on pucks and doing a lot of the little things,” Lee said of Gauthier. “Great move by him, getting the puck to the net on Holmstrom’s [goal]. And obviously on that draw, a really nice shot.”

Consistency has been key for Gauthier, who slotted into the lineup for four straight games.

"It's really hard when you don't get in the lineup because you don't have a lot of timing or feel for the game," Gauthier said. "But when you go in for a few games in a row, you start developing chemistry with some guys so it feels great."

LINEUP CHANGES

Mathew Barzal (illness) was a late scratch against the Panthers and is listed day to day, leaving the Islanders without their point leader.

"Barzy is a huge part of our team, and he was certainly missed tonight," Lee said. “But our guys stepped up.”

Horvat did what he had to do in Barzal's absence, stepping up with two points (2A), a game-high three takeaways and creating important plays.

"He was good tonight," Lambert said of Horvat. "He worked, battled down low in our zone, played a 200-foot game which he always does and made some nice plays."

Hudson Fasching drew into the lineup for the first time since Nov. 24, playing 11:21in his 100^th NHL game.

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders kick off a six-game homestand on Tuesday night against the San Jose Sharks. Puck drop is at 7:30 p.m.