Greiss, Islanders defeat Panthers, extend point streak to 12

NEW YORK -- The New York Islanders extended their point streak to 12 games when Scott Mayfield broke a tie in the third period in a 2-1 win against the Florida Panthers at Barclays Center on Saturday.

Thomas Greiss made 37 saves, including 15 in the third period, and Mathew Barzal had a goal and an assist for New York (12-3-1), which is 11-0-1 in its past 12 games.
"Nice response by our team," Barzal said of the Islanders, whose 10-game winning streak ended with a 4-3 overtime loss against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday. "We had the lead going into the third period again, we know we didn't want to lose it there. They got one back on the power play, and we got one I think the next shift. It was a good response by our group. Greiss] made some big stops down the stretch. It was a team win."
***[WATCH: [All Panthers vs. Islanders Highlights]*
Aleksander Barkov extended his goal streak to four games, and Sergei Bobrovsky made 34 saves for Florida (7-4-5), which had one regulation loss in its previous 10 (6-1-3).
"It's frustrating we couldn't get more than one goal," Barkov said. "We had chances, we created a lot of chances to score a goal, and [Bobrovsky] helped us and gave us a chance to win the game. We just couldn't score another goal."
Barkov scored when he swatted a loose puck past Greiss for a power-play goal at 6:12 of the third period to tie it 1-1.

Mayfield responded 38 seconds later with a centering feed from outside the right circle that went off both Brian Boyle and Anton Stralman before trickling past Bobrovsky to give the Islanders a 2-1 lead at 6:50.
"The response after the goal, that told me a lot about this group," Islanders coach Barry Trotz said.
Barkov had a second tying goal taken away during a Panthers power play with 5:25 remaining when replays concluded his stick was above the crossbar.
"I felt like I was down on my knees and hit it with the stick," Barkov said. "I didn't think it was a high stick, but I never saw the replay. I think they're not going to make any mistakes on those plays."
Barzal gave New York a 1-0 lead when he took a pass from Brock Nelson, deked and scored on backhand shot at 5:40 of the first period.

Greiss, who made 14 saves in the first period, preserved the one-goal lead at 7:21 of the second during a penalty kill when he stretched across his crease to make a right pad save against Barkov. It was one of four saves while Jordan Eberle served a slashing penalty.
"I mean, what more can you say," Barzal said of Greiss, who has won each of his past six starts and has a 1.88 goals-against average and .942 save percentage. "His save percentage and goals-against average has been right up there at the top of the League. He had Vezina numbers last year, and again this year he's been doing the same thing."
Evgenii Dadonov had a chance to at 11:40 of the second, but his wrist shot from point-blank range hit the crossbar. Eberle then helped Greiss moments later when he sprawled out in the crease to block Brett Connolly's shot.
"You just do your best [Greiss] impression trying to make a save," said Eberle, who played for the first time since Oct. 12 because of a lower-body injury. "[Greiss] was, I think, the main reason we won today. He made some outstanding saves. Full credit to him."

They said it

"It was a game of basically less than inches when you come down to the opportunities at the end. We did some good things, but their goalie made some key saves. Some of them around the net there today, we could have buried some. That could have been the difference."-- Panthers coach Joel Quenneville
"It's not tough, because you're happy for them and you're celebrating with them. But there's definitely a part of you that wants to be a part of it; I think that's just human nature and as a competitor, everyone feels that way. But you know your time will come, and it was nice to come back and continue a new streak here."-- Islanders forward Jordan Eberle

Need to know

Bobrovsky made 19 saves in the second period. … Panthers center Vincent Trocheck returned after missing seven games because of a lower-body injury. … Florida forward Jonathan Huberdeau had an assist to extend his point streak to four games (four goals, three assists). … Islanders center Casey Cizikas did not play in the third period; he hobbled to the bench after blocking Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad's shot at 13:56 of the first. Trotz said he believes Cizikas will be OK. … New York activated Eberle off injured reserve and sent forward Oliver Wahlstrom to Bridgeport of the American Hockey League. … Defenseman Nick Leddy returned after missing three games with a lower-body injury. … Islanders forward Josh Bailey had a power-play goal waved off at 3:47 of the first period after it was ruled forward Anders Lee made incidental contact with Bobrovsky. … Islanders sent center Cole Bardreau and forward Otto Koivula to Bridgeport after the game.

What's next

Panthers:At the New York Rangers on Sunday (1 p.m. ET; NHLN, MSG, FS-F, NHL.TV)
Islanders: Host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday (Nassau Coliseum, 7 p.m. ET; SN, MSG+, NHL.TV)