Islanders squander three-goal lead in first period, give up six unanswered in loss to Panthers

Max Tsyplakov occupies a roster spot previously held by Cal Clutterbuck. Dennis Cholowski is the seventh defenseman instead of Samuel Bolduc. Otherwise, the Islanders now have the same roster they did last season, when they struggled to hold leads.

So in their first game with their same old crew, the Islanders blew a three-goal first-period lead and lost to the reigning Stanley Cup champion Panthers, 6-3, on Saturday night at UBS Arena to complete their first back-to-back set of the season.

“If you would say to me it’s in the third period, I would kind of agree with this,” coach Patrick Roy said. “But it’s a 60-minute game.”

Semyon Varlamov (22 saves) stopped only 15 of the 19 shots he faced in the final 40 minutes for the Islanders (3-3-2).

“It’s tough because Varly had been so good for us,” Roy said. “He’s a big boy. He knows he could have maybe got a couple of those. But it’s a team game.”

“I’m not going to break down the goals we give up,” Varlamov said. “We give up plenty today. It shouldn’t be 3-6, especially leading the game 3-0. I would say it wasn’t our best.”

Spencer Knight recovered from a shaky start to make 25 saves for the Panthers (6-3-1).

Before the game, forwards Pierre Engvall and Hudson Fasching were recalled from AHL Bridgeport and the Islanders signed longtime fourth-liner Matt Martin off his professional tryout offer to a one-year, $775,000 deal.

Engvall and Martin sandwiched center Kyle MacLean on the fourth line, which fell out of the rotation in the third period.

“Having Marty back in the lineup, it’s leadership and experience and he brings that physicality,” Roy said. “I think [president and general manager Lou Lamoriello] thinks it’s important for us. Pierre, we know what he did for this team in the past two years and I guess Lou thought it was a good moment for him to be back.”

Engvall, in the second season of a seven-year, $21 million deal, had 10 goals and 18 assists in 74 games last season and was a healthy scratch three separate times. Then he struggled through training camp.

Sam Bennett gave the Panthers a 4-3 lead at 6:19 of the third period after Varlamov directed Matthew Tkachuk’s initial shot to his left, where it deflected in off Bennett. Tkachuk added a power-play goal at 9:49 and defenseman Gustav Forsling clinched it with an empty-net shorthanded goal.

Sam Reinhart breezed into the Islanders’ zone to cut it to 3-1 at 13:27 of the first period. Tkachuk made it 3-2 at the net at 6:38 of the second period and Mackie Samoskevich, allowed to skate around the crease untouched, tied it with his wraparound at 18:16 of the second period.

Cholowski, Kyle Palmieri and Brock Nelson scored for the Islanders in the opening 11:41.

Notes & quotes: Defenseman Alexander Romanov (upper body) is day-to-day, but Lamoriello insisted he is not dealing with a concussion after taking a high hit from Kurtis MacDermid in Friday’s 4-3 overtime road win over the Devils .  .  . Oliver Wahlstrom and Fasching also were not in the lineup.

By Andrew Gross

andrew.gross@newsday.comAGrossNewsday

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.