National Hockey League
NY Islanders 4, Florida 3
When: 6:00 PM ET, Saturday, December 2, 2023
Where: Amerant Bank Arena, Sunrise, Florida
Referees: Pierre Lambert, Kendrick Nicholson
Linesmen: Shandor Alphonso, Jesse Marquis
Attendance: 18721

Ilya Sorokin made 42 saves as the New York Islanders defeated the host Florida Panthers 4-3 on Saturday night in Sunrise, Fla.

It was the second consecutive win for the Islanders, who got goals from Anders Lee, Pierre Engvall, Simon Holmstrom and Julien Gauthier. Bo Horvat added two assists.

Sam Reinhart, Matthew Tkachuk and Carter Verhaeghe scored for the Panthers, and backup goalie Anthony Stolarz made 23 saves.

Mathew Barzal, who leads the Islanders in points (23), sat out the game due to illness.

The Islanders opened the scoring just seven seconds into their first power-play chance of the game. Lee scored at 12:36 after Horvat won a faceoff. Kyle Palmieri, with his back to the goal, whipped a no-look pass to Lee, who shoved the puck between Stolarz's legs from point-blank range.

Florida scored 66 seconds later as Brandon Montour made the no-look pass to Evan Rodrigues, who actually fanned on the shot. But Reinhart, hustling all the way, got the goal as he was in behind Sorokin.

The Panthers nearly took the lead on its power play. With 3:35 left in the first, Tkachuk slipped a cross-ice pass to Rodrigues, whose wide-open shot from the top of blue paint hit the right post. Rodrigues' rebound try was stopped by Sorokin.

New York took a 2-1 lead at 4:37 of the second as Engvall slapped home a rebound of a shot by Alexander Romanov.

The Islanders extended their advantage to 3-1 with 10:48 remaining in the second. This time, it was Holmstrom who shoved home a rebound off a Gauthier shot.

Florida cut its deficit to 3-2 on Tkachuk's ripped shot from the right circle. Verhaeghe got the primary assist, retrieving the puck from the right corner before Tkachuk beat Sorokin to the far side.

New York took a 4-2 lead with 16:17 left in the third as Horvat won a draw, and Gauthier immediately fired a high shot from the right circle, beating Stolarz's glove. It was Gauthier's first goal with the Islanders.

Florida cut its deficit to 4-3 on Verhaeghe's rebound goal with 10:24 left. Gustav Forsling earned the primary assist for his shot from the point.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
NY Islanders   Florida
Julien Gauthier 2 Points Carter Verhaeghe 2
Julien Gauthier 1 Goals Carter Verhaeghe 1
Bo Horvat 2 Assists Carter Verhaeghe 1
Anders Lee 1 Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Ilya Sorokin .933 Save Percentage Anthony Stolarz .852
Ilya Sorokin 42 Saves Anthony Stolarz 23
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
NY Islanders 27 4 1-2 2-2 4 26
Florida 45 3 0-2 1-2 4 38
Upcoming Games
  • Florida will play their next game at home against Dallas. The Panthers have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .700 after a loss.
  • NY Islanders will play their next game at home against San Jose. The Islanders have a W/L % of .556 after a win and .357 after a loss.