Aleksander Barkov's goal not enough as Islanders edge Panthers
NEW YORK (AP) —Thomas Greiss came through with some big saves. Johnny Boychuk and Jordan Eberle had a couple key blocks when Greiss was out of position, and Scott Mayfield got the winning goal for New York right after Florida tied it in the third period.
The Islanders bounced back from a disappointing loss with a team victory.
Greiss stopped 37 shots and Mathew Barzal had a goal and an assist, helping the Islanders beat the Panthers 2-1 Saturday for their 11th win in 12 games.
New York rebounded nicely after it blew a three-goal lead in the third period of a 4-3 overtime loss to Pittsburgh on Thursday night.
"Last game was a tough last period," Greiss said. "So we wanted to win that one for sure and everybody battled hard, it was a good comeback."
The Islanders earned a point for the 12th straight game — a stretch that followed a 1-3-0 start and began with a 3-2 shootout win against the Panthers at Nassau Coliseum on Oct. 12.
"You're going to win games different ways," New York coach Barry Trotz said. "We had been doing it with a lot of people out. (Today) we won it with excellent goaltending, good special teams and some high commitment in all those areas."
Aleksander Barkov scored for Florida, and Sergei Bobrovsky finished with 34 saves. The Panthers lost in regulation for just the second time in 13 games (6-2-5).
"It's frustrating we didn't get more than one goal," Barkov said. "We had chances ... a lot of chances to score a goal. That helped us and gave us a chance to win the game but we just didn't score enough goals."
Barkov tied the score with a power-play goal at 6:12 of the third, beating Greiss from the right side for his fourth.
Mayfield regained the lead for New York just 38 seconds later with a shot from the right point that deflected in off Panthers defenseman Anton Stralman's stick.
"We had the lead going into the third period, we didn't want to lose it there," Barzal said. "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. Shift after a goal is kind of huge."
A tripping penalty on Anders Lee gave Florida its fourth power play of the game and Barkov appeared to tie it again with 5:25 left. But the goal was disallowed because officials ruled he hit the puck with a high stick. The call was confirmed by a video review.
Bobrovsky was pulled for an extra skater with 1:40 left, but the Panthers came up empty the rest of the way.
"We had some tough luck," Panthers coach Joel Quenneville said. "Give (Greiss) a lot of credit."
Leading 1-0 after 20 minutes, the Islanders pressed to add to their lead in the scoreless second period with both goalies making some nice stops.
New York outshot Florida 19-8 in the period, including 9-1 over the first 5:15 and 6-0 over the final 5 1/2 minutes. Greiss made a nice left pad stop on Mike Matheson in front 5 1/2 minutes in. Barkov was stopped on a pair of shots about 45 seconds apart, and Greiss had a spectacular save on Mike Hoffman's shot from the right circle about seven minutes in.
Eberle, back after missing 10 games with an injury, went down on his knee and used his chest to block a shot by Brett Connolly in front with 8:15 remaining in the middle period.
"In my head I was just thinking there's no way we were losing this game," Eberle said. "That probably was my best save of my career. ... (Greiss) was, I think, the main reason we won today. He made some outstanding saves and full credit to him."
The Islanders had a goal disallowed during a power play early in the first because officials ruled Lee interfered with Bobrovsky, and replays showed Lee had his skate in the crease when he made contact with the goalie.
Barzal then scored a goal that counted. He got a pass across the crease from Brock Nelson at the right side, paused to draw Bobrovsky to his side, and went to his left and put a backhander in for his team-leading seventh at 5:40.
The Panthers outshot the Islanders 14-7 in the first period, including an 8-1 margin over the final 6 1/2 minutes. Boychuk helped with a diving block on Barkov's attempt with Greiss out of position with about a minute left.
NOTES: Barkov's goal gave Florida a power-play score for the fifth straight game. ... Barkov extended his goal-scoring streak to four games, with four goals and seven points in the stretch. ... The Panthers lost a one-goal game in regulation for the first time this season, falling to 3-1-5 in such games. ... The Islanders improved to 10-0-1 when leading after two periods.... Islanders F Casey Cizikas missed the third period due to a lower-body injury.
UP NEXT
Panthers: At the New York Rangers on Sunday.
Islanders: Host Toronto on Wednesday night.
