Frank Franklin II / AP
Matthew Tkachuk scored twice, Sam Bennett got the go-ahead goal in the third period, and the Florida Panthers rallied from three goals down to beat the New York Islanders 6-3 on Saturday night.
Sam Reinhart also scored, Mackie Samoskevich got his first NHL goal and Gustav Forsling added a short-handed empty-netter in the closing minutes to seal the Panthers’ win. Dmitry Kulikov and Anton Lundell each had two assists, and Spencer Knight finished with 26 saves as the defending Stanley Cup Champions won their second straight.
Dennis Cholowski, Kyle Palmieri and Brock Nelson scored in the first period for New York. Semyon Varlamov finished with 22 saves as the Islanders lost for the second time in three games.
Knight allowed three goals on the first seven shots and then denied the next 22 shot attempts from the Islanders.
Islanders coach Patrick Roy has been unable to get the Islanders to protect leads, a characteristic that has plagued New York since Lane Lambert took over behind the bench after Barry Trotz was fired in May 2022. New York scored three straight goals in the first period but allowed Florida to score six unanswered to win it.
Bennett has stepped up in captain Aleksander Barkov’s absence, scoring in four straight games including a go-ahead goal in third period against the Islanders.
Tkachuk found a loose puck behind Varlamov and pulled the Panthers to within one goal. Florida seized momentum and completely erased the Islanders’ three-goal advantage by the end of the second period.
The Islanders have scored at least three goals in five of their eight games. They have been shut out in the other three.
The Panthers visit Buffalo on Tuesday while the Islanders wrap up a brief two-game home stand against Anaheim.
