RECAP: Islanders 4, Panthers 2

ELMONT, N.Y. – In the second half of a back-to-back, the Florida Panthers saw their lead in the third period evaporate in a 4-2 loss to the New York Islanders at UBS Arena on Sunday.

Leading the Atlantic Division at 41-24-3, the Panthers have lost just four games when leading after two periods, but two of those losses have happened on this road trip.

Despite this bump in the road, the Panthers believe it’s a somewhat necessary hardship.

“It’s good for us right now,” head coach Paul Maurice said. “There’s a certain amount of humbling you want to have happen before you go into the playoffs. We still have some work to do to get there, and we’re losing bodies. I think that’s going to be the trend when we’ve still got four sets of back-to-backs and all the teams we play are rested. Everybody is fighting for their lives right now. It’s a grinder to the finish.”

In the first period, the Islanders controlled much of the play.

On the penalty kill, Vitek Vanecek came up in the clutch to keep the Islanders off the board early when he robbed Bo Horvat on a shot from the slot. Later, Vanecek continued to stand tall with another crucial stop on Horvat, this time on a shot from the right circle off the rush.

After 20 minutes, New York led 12-1 in shots on goal, but had no goals to show for it.

“He gave us all the chances to win,” captain Aleksander Barkov said of Vanecek, who’s been outstanding through his first two starts after being acquired by the Panthers prior to last week’s trade deadline. “We didn’t do a good enough job in front of him.”

Losing a key player in the first period, Dmitry Kulikov exited with an upper-body injury for Florida.

Not returning, Maurice said the veteran defenseman will be looked at tomorrow.

“It was a big loss,” Barkov said losing Kulikov for much of the game. “Playing with five D, it’s a lot of minutes on those guys. They did well enough, but we just need to be a little better.”

Coming out much stronger in the second period, the Panthers drew first blood.

At the 19-minute mark, Barkov set up Sam Reinhart for a goal from right outside the crease with a nifty touch pass to make it 1-0. On the power play soon after, Barkov was rewarded for his generosity with a goal of his own, deflecting in a shot to make it 2-0 at 4:48.

Keeping the two-goal cushion intact for the Panthers, Vanecek kept the Islanders from cutting into their deficit early in the third period when he denied Jean-Gabirel Pageau on a breakaway.

Finally breaking through, the Islanders got on the board when – after an outstanding initial pad save from Vanecek – Marc Gatcomb buried a wrap-around goal to make it 2-1 at 6:29.

Not done there, the Islanders pulled even when Maxim Tsyplakov got behind the defense, made a quick deke and then slipped a shot through Vanecek’s five-hole to make it 2-2 at 12:16.

Just 17 seconds later, Noah Dobson buried a far-side shot to put New York up 3-2 at 12:33.

After the Panthers pulled Vanecek to gain a 6-on-5 advantage late in regulation, Ilya Sorokin played the role of hero for the Islanders, stopping all nine shots he faced over the final 3:03 of the period.

At 19:53, Simon Holmstrom made it 4-2 with an empty-net goal.

“Obviously, they pushed,” Barkov said of New York’s late-game rally to steal two points. “They scored some goals. I don’t know what to say there. That’s on us. We have to be better, especially in the third period when we have the lead. We have to play better. That’s on us.”

THEY SAID IT

“He was good tonight. Boy, we needed that. You come in back-to-back, and he was really good. I feel for the young man. He played well enough to earn recognition with a win. We’ve got a good one there.” – Paul Maurice on Vitek Vanecek’s performance

“Just stick to our game plan. I think we were just trying to defend the whole period. We need to be able to play our own game the whole 60 minutes, not just 40 minutes.” – Aleksander Barkov on the team’s third period against the Islanders

CATS STATS

- Vitek Vanecek’s shutout streak as a Panther was snapped at 106:29.

- Aleksander Barkov and Sam Reinhart each posted a goal and an assist.

- The Panthers trailed the Islanders 33-21 in scoring chances.

- Anton Lundell went 6-for-9 (66.7%) in the faceoff circle.

- Jonah Gadjovich led the Panthers in hits (5) and blocked shots (4).

WHAT’S NEXT?

The trip rolls on.

After heading home to catch their breath, the Panthers will hit the road once again for a battle with the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET.

To find a place to watch the game in South Florida, click HERE.