Shorthanded Islanders show fight but have seven-game winning streak snapped by Panthers
Florida Panthers center Evan Rodrigues, front right, scores against New York Islanders goalie Jakub Skarek, left, during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025, in Sunrise, Fla. Credit: AP/Lynne Sladky
SUNRISE, Fla. — The news was not that the Islanders — with three defensemen and a top forward hurt and a goalie making his NHL debut — had their season-high seven-game winning streak snapped. Rather, it was that they were tenacious enough to have hopes of extending it.
But it’s fair to wonder how long they can keep scrambling without some of their key components as they push for a playoff spot.
“It’s been kind of crazy lately and we’ve had guys step up in key situations and new guys coming in that are playing key roles and playing extremely well,” Casey Cizikas told Newsday. “We have each other’s back in here no matter what, and you can see that by the way we’re competing out there.”
Still, the Islanders concluded a three-game road trip with a 6-3 loss to the defending Stanley Cup champion Panthers on Sunday night at Amerant Bank Arena.
The Islanders clawed back from an early 2-0 deficit, scoring three straight goals in the second period to take the lead. But the Panthers, who got three goals from Carter Verhaeghe, scored twice in the second to take a 4-3 lead.
Before the game, the Islanders (24-21-7) added Mathew Barzal and defenseman Scott Mayfield to their missing list after both were hurt Saturday night in a 3-2 overtime win over the Lightning. Defensemen Noah Dobson and Ryan Pulock already were sidelined.
And the schedule dictated that the starting nod go to rookie goalie Jakub Skarek, 25, with backup Marcus Hogberg joining the Islanders’ injured this past week. Skarek overcame early jitters to stop 27 shots in the second game of a back-to-back for both teams.
“He was good in the first [period] when we were not very good,” coach Patrick Roy said, citing the Islanders’ numerous turnovers, not to mention the seams in their defense that the Panthers exploited on the rush. “Actually, he’s the reason why there was a game here tonight. In the first period, they had a lot of chances. The goals he gave up, he didn’t have much of a chance.”
“I started to feel a little more comfortable as the game went on,” said Skarek, the Islanders’ 2018 third-round draft pick. “In the first period, there wasn’t too many basic shots. It was from the slot or through the screens, so it wasn’t that easy to track them. In the second period, there were more clean shots where I could deflect them a little better.”
Skarek gave up Verhaeghe’s first goal at the crease 39 seconds in and allowed a second goal by Verhaeghe at 12:52 off a juicy rebound. Evan Rodrigues’ goal to tie it at 3 at 17:52 of the second period and Sam Reinhart’s go-ahead goal 1 minute, 17 seconds later both occurred as they got open at the crease.
Verhaeghe completed his hat trick with a power-play goal at 10:41 of the third period and Matthew Tkachuk added an empty-netter.
Skarek, who faced 14 shots in the first period, acknowledged rebound control is something he must improve.
“It was pretty fast,” he said. “Florida is one of the better teams in the NHL. It was a little bit of a harder game. Still, I’m very grateful I got to play. The dream came true.”
Kyle MacLean stuffed in a rebound at 3:10 of the second period to bring the Islanders within one. Then, with five seconds left on the Islanders’ second power play, Jean-Gabriel Pageau tied it at 2 at 10:00. Rookie fourth-liner Marc Gatcomb, exiting the penalty box, gave the Islanders a 3-2 lead at 14:51 of the second period.
Spencer Knight made 31 saves for the Panthers (32-19-3).
“It wasn’t the first period we wanted,” Anders Lee said. “We kind of did it to ourselves a little bit.”
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
