Islanders at Panthers | Recap

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Carter Verhaeghe scored a hat trick and had an assist for the Florida Panthers, who ended the New York Islanders' seven-game winning streak with a 6-3 victory at Amerant Bank Arena on Sunday.

It was Verhaeghe's fourth NHL hat trick and first since April 1, 2023.

“It was nice. I have been shooting it a lot lately, so it feels good to have a couple go in," Verhaeghe said. “Our team is playing really well.”

Sam Reinhart and Matthew Tkachuk each had a goal and an assist, and Aleksander Barkov had three assists for Florida (32-19-3), which has won three straight. Spencer Knight made 31 saves.

Kyle MacLean, Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Marc Gatcomb scored for New York (24-21-7). Jakub Skarek made 27 saves in his NHL debut.

“I felt good, was just trying to focus on the basics and to do that well,” Skarek said. “As the game went on, I felt a little more comfortable with the speed and how the players were playing in different situations. I am definitely grateful for this experience. It’s definitely a night I will not forget.”

The Islanders played without forward Mathew Barzal and defenseman Scott Mayfield, who were each injured in a 3-2 overtime win at the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday.

“They’re all beat up, have four defensemen out and their top offensive player,” Florida coach Paul Maurice said of the Islanders. “And they won seven straight just like that: they battled, stayed in games, scored late and competed so very hard. It looked like it was going to happen again tonight."

Verhaeghe scored 39 seconds into the game to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead. He beat Skarek with a backhand in front after the Islanders turned the puck over while trying to clear their zone.

NYI@FLA: Verhaeghe pops game opener over Skarek

Verhaeghe then made it 2-0 at 12:52, scoring on the rebound of Gustav Forsling's shot in the left circle.

“[Skarek] was good in the first and we weren’t very good," New York coach Patrick Roy said. “He gave us a chance. That’s what we said after the first period. ... We had too many turnovers. Look at the first two goals. You can’t turn the puck over against a team like this."

MacLean got the Islanders on the board at 3:10 of the second period, knocking in a rebound in the crease to make it 2-1.

Pageau tied it 2-2 at 10:00. He got to a loose puck that hit off Knight’s pad and scored near the right post for a power-play goal.

Gatcomb gave the Islanders a 3-2 lead at 14:51 with a redirection of Adam Pelech's slap shot from the left point. The goal came moments after Gatcomb was stopped by Knight on a breakaway after exiting the penalty box.

NYI@FLA: Gatcomb scores goal against Spencer Knight

Evan Rodrigues responded at 17:52 to tie it 3-3. He grabbed the rebound of Anton Lundell's shot and slid a backhand past the sprawling stick of Skarek.

Reinhart put the Panthers back in front 4-3 at 19:09 of the second, tapping in a return pass from Forsling on a rush.

“After the first period we had to come back,” Roy said. “And it’s too bad. We took a 3-2 lead, and there is a reason why they won the Stanley Cup, isn’t there? They are a good team, a team that plays the right way and are very disciplined in their structure. We learned a lot tonight.”

Verhaeghe pushed the lead to 5-3 at 10:41 of the third period, scoring a power-play goal with a one-timer from the left circle off a cross-ice feed from Tkachuk.

NYI@FLA: Verhaeghe finishes Tkachuk's feed and earns hat trick on PPG

Tkachuk scored an empty-net goal at 18:21 for the 6-3 final.

“I think the games where we come to play right from the start is where we are at our best,” Verhaeghe said. “It is kind of a mindset thing we like to have, and we had it tonight."

NOTES: The Panthers honored defenseman Dmitry Kulikov before the game for playing in his 1,000th NHL game on Wednesday, a 3-0 win against the Los Angeles Kings. The Panthers all warmed up wearing Kulikov’s No. 7 with his name on the back of their jerseys. ... Barkov has eight points (one goal, seven assists) in his past five games. ... Tkachuk has nine points (four goals, five assists) in his past five games.