Takeaways: Islanders Take Down Panthers 4-2 in Comeback Fashion

Call it a comeback against the Cats.

The New York Islanders exploded with a four-goal third period to erase a 2-0 deficit and take down the Florida Panthers 4-2 on Sunday night at UBS Arena.

Marc Gatcomb, Max Tysplakov, Noah Dobson and Simon Holmstrom (ENG) scored for the Islanders and Tony DeAngelo recorded two assists. Sam Reinhart (1G, 1A) and Aleksander Barkov (PPG) provided offense for the Panthers. Ilya Sorokin turned aside 22 of 24 shots in the win, while Vitek Vanecek made 30 saves in defeat.

It marked the third multi-goal comeback of the season (Nov. 5 against Pittsburgh and Jan. 25 against Carolina) and first time all the season the Islanders were able to erase a multi-goal deficit in the third period alone.

With the win, the Islanders (68 points) narrowed the gap to four points behind the New York Rangers (72 points) for the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. The Montreal Canadiens (71 points), Columbus Blue Jackets (70 points) and Detroit Red Wings (70 points) stand between them.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Islanders jumped all over the Panthers in the first period, taking advantage of a team playing on the second night of a back-to-back set with travel from Montreal. Despite a 12-1 shot advantage in the opening 20 that included two power plays for the Isles, the game remained scoreless.

“Our first period was really good, I thought we did everything except scoring goals,” Roy said.

The Panthers found their legs to start the second period, scoring two quick goals, as Reinhart connected on a pass from Barkov at the side of the crease to open the scoring one minute intothe frame. Florida pounced on the power play to extend their lead to 2-0 when Barkov deflected a Reinhart shot that floated over Sorokin’s shoulder and in at the 4:48 mark of the second period.

By the end of 40 minutes of play, the Islanders still had a dominant shot advantage of 22-10 but Vanecek stood tall. JG Pageau had a breakaway chance early in the third period but was stoned by Vanecek, but the Isles kept pushing down 2-0.

“They scored two goals and we didn’t panic,” Roy said. “We stayed calm and played the same way and the puck finally bounced on our side.”

Gatcomb got the Isles on the board and livened up UBS Arena with a gorgeous wraparound goal at the 6:29 mark of the third period to get the Isles within one. Roy had praise for Gatcomb’s line with Kyle MacLean and Max Tsyplakov for the way they played through 60 minutes.

“They gave us that energy we needed,” Roy said. “That first goal was huge for us.”

Building off that momentum, the Islanders sustained more offensive zone pressure, and it paid off when Tsyplakov received a Mike Reilly pass, faked a shot from the right dot and moved in further to rip a shot past Vanecek to tie the score at two apiece at the 12:16 mark of the third period.

The Islanders took their first lead of the game 17 seconds later when Dobson raced past three Florida defenders and wristed a shot to take a 3-2 lead with 7:27 left in the game.

The Panthers swarmed the Islanders zone with the goalie pulled, but Sorokin protected the 3-2 lead at five-on-six before Holmstrom sealed the deal with an empty-net goal.

“He was making outstanding saves, especially that last flurry in the last minute or two,” Dobson said of Sorokin. “As expected with him, he gives us a chance to win every night.”

REILLY MAKES RETURN

The Islanders had a huge comeback tonight, but Mike Reilly had a comeback of his own.

Four months after heart surgery, Reilly looked like his usual self on the ice in his first game back. The defenseman hit the scoresheet with an assist on Tsyplakov’s goal and contributed in the full-team effort in Sunday’s win.

“He’s very determined to play,” Roy said. “He was determined to play and he wanted it. He cares. I think good things happen in those situations and I wasn’t surprised to see him play well.”

The defenseman recorded an assist, one shot on goal, two blocked shots in 14:23 TOI in his first game since Nov. 1. Reilly’s return was highly anticipated by the fanbase. The crowd gave showed some love for Reilly when he was announced as a starter, and a few fans showcased handmade signs on the glass during warmups to welcome him back. Most of all, his teammates were thrilled to see him back out there.

“It says a lot about the person [Reilly] is,” Dobson said. “To fight his way to get back, happy to see him get rewarded. We definitely missed him.”

Reilly gave all the credit to his teammates for a successful outing in his first game back after a lengthy absence, reflecting on the long road it took to play again.

“I tried to treat it like another game as much as I could,” Reilly said. “I know my teammates had my back, they made it easy on me to come into a game after a few months off. It was very special, just the hard work and tough times to get to today.”

LINEUP NOTES

Adam Pelech (lower-body, day to day) missed Sunday’s tilt after he blocked a shot in overtime on Friday against the Oilers. Adam Boqvist missed his second straight game after absorbing a hit on Tuesday against the Kings.

ODDS AND ENDS

• Simon Holmstrom snapped a 12-game goal drought with an empty-net goal against Florida.
• With a primary assist on Dobson’s game-winner, Anders Lee tied Derek King for 13^th in franchise history with 499 career points. Lee also led the team with four hits.
• Dobson and Alexander Romanov tied for the team lead of four shots on goal.
• The Islanders allowed the opening goal for the 41^st time this season, tied for the league-most with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

NOTABLE QUOTE

Noah Dobson on the team’s battle level as they picked up three of a possible four points in their last two games in Sunday’s 4-2 win over the Panthers and 2-1 OT loss against the Edmonton Oilers:

“This weekend we played two top teams in the league. Hard-fought Friday night, able to get one point and tonight in the first 40, we were playing good hockey and it wasn’t going our way, but like the resilience and character the group showed to stick with it. That’s a huge one, something we can build off.”

NEXT GAME

The Islanders head to the Steel City to take on the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m.