3 Takeaways: Islanders Pound Panthers 5-1

The New York Islanders 5-1 win over the Florida Panthers is going on the nice list.
The Islanders scored five unanswered goals, roaring back after falling behind early. In the process, they busted out of a two-game winless streak, snapped a five-game winless streak against the Panthers and responded after with a quality effort one night after giving away three leads to the New York Rangers.

"It's huge, especially going in the break," Head Coach Lane Lambert said. "It's a situation where you need to get rewarded at some point for your efforts and I thought our guys did that tonight, so it was important."
Anthony Beauvillier had a pair of goals, his 100th and 101st of his career and first multi-goal game since May 1, 2021, Aatu Raty scored his first NHL goal and the Isles got goals from Zach Parise and Ryan Pulock. Matthew Tkachuk scored the lone goal for the Panthers.
The Islanders dominated large swaths of the game at both ends of the nice. Their 23 shots allowed tied for the third fewest they'd given up in a game this season, while their 42 shots accounted for the fifth-most this season.
They did it with an undermanned squad, albeit against a Panthers team that also entered the game in a hobbled condition. Regardless, it led to good feelings in the locker room and UBS Arena as the Isles are off for the next three days for the NHL's Christmas break.

RATY AND WOTHERSPOON DEBUT

Friday night featured a pair of NHL debuts, as both Aatu Raty and Parker Wotherspoon

.
Raty, the Islanders 2021 second round pick (52nd overall), skated 11:25, starting between Matt Martin and Hudson Fasching in place of an injured Casey Cizikas and later helping fill in for an injured Brock Nelson. Wotherspoon, the Islanders 2015 fourth-round pick (112th overall) skated 14:47 on a pair with Ryan Pulock and had two shots and a hit.
The headline moment was Raty's first career goal, as the center took a pass from Anders Lee, pulled a quick fake on Nick Cousins and snapped a shot through Sergei Bobrovsky. On a day that was already "surreal" for the 20-year-old, a first goal was a dream come true, as was having his name chanted by the UBS Arena crowd.
"Just this whole day felt surreal," Raty said. "This is something that I've wanted to do since I can remember. This was so special, especially having a game like this with such a great crowd and getting a win."

Raty was in the sauna in Bridgeport when he was summoned by Head Coach Brent Thompson, but looked cool and composed in his NHL debut per Lambert.
"He plays on both sides of the puck and so I thought defensively he was sound," Lambert said of Raty. "He stays on people and he understands angles and things like that, so I thought it was good."
As for Wotherspoon, the defenseman had certainly paid his dues in the American Hockey League, playing 293 games in Bridgeport, the fifth-most in franchise history.
"It was just a dream come true," Wotherspoon said. "I worked a long time for this and I had dreamed of it for a long time. And just to have it go the way it did is even better."
Wotherspoon said he hadn't been that nervous for a hockey game in a long time when taking his rookie lap, but settled in early. The blueliner sprung Hudson Fasching on a partial breakaway and later dished to a cutting Oliver Wahlstrom for a quality look. The 2015 fourth-round pick said his NHL was just as much for his family, who'd supported his hockey career during his six full seasons in Bridgeport.

"They're super excited and supportive," Wotherspoon said. "They've been in my corner since day one and this is just as much for me as it is for them."
Lambert was pleased with the effort from his defenseman.
"I thought he was poised and that he was good with the puck," Lambert said of Wotherspoon. "He just moved the puck and I thought he was was physical, strong in battles and I thought he played very well."

HOLMSTROM AND NELSON LEAVE GAME:

There was a cost to Friday's win, as both Simon Holmstrom and Brock Nelson left the game in the second period and did not return.
Nelson, who leads the team in scoring with 34 points, left the game after taking a puck to the head, while Holmstrom left latein the period after a knee-on-knee collision with Sam Bennett.
Holmstrom was having a quality game until the point of his injury, setting up JG Pageau on a backdoor feed that the center skied over the net in the first period. Holmstrom later hit the post from the range in the second period. Lambert did not have an update on either player.

SOROKIN STARTS BACK-TO-BACK, GETS FIRST WIN SINCE NOV. 25:

Ilya Sorokin started for the second time in as many nights, playing his fourth set of back-to-back games as an Islander.
He wasn't overly taxed, seeing only 23 shots in the game - and only five high danger chances at five-on-five per Natural Stat Trick - but was solid when he needed to be, including a key save on Eetu Luostarinen in the third period.
More importantly, the Islanders netminder busted out of a seven-start winless streak, that had seen him previously go 0-6-1 - though that stretch included a 46-save shutout in a 1-0 loss to Colorado.
While Sorokin isn't easily fazed, Lambert said it was good for his goaltender to get a positive result.
"It's an important win for him," Lambert said. "The results re the results, but if you continue doing the right things and good things, eventually the results go in your favor, and that's what he's been doing."

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders have three days off and return to action on Dec. 27 against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Puck drop is at 7:30 p.m.