Brock Nelson scored the first -- and only -- goal in the shootout Saturday night as the New York Islanders edged the Florida Panthers 3-2 in Uniondale, N.Y.
Anders Lee and Josh Bailey scored for the Islanders, who snapped a two-game losing streak. Semyon Varlamov made 35 saves in regulation and overtime before stopping all three shots he faced in the shootout.
Denis Malgin and Evgenii Dadonov scored for the Panthers, who lost in the shootout for the second time in as many nights and have lost three in a row overall. Goalie Sam Montembeault recorded 26 saves in his first start of the season.
The Panthers took an early lead following an end-to-end rush. Mackenzie Weegar's shot was turned back by Varlamov, but Dadonov corralled the rebound and passed the puck to Malgin, whose shot sailed past Islanders winger Ross Johnston and Varlamov at the 5:34 mark.
A nifty individual effort by Mathew Barzal helped set up the game-tying goal by Lee 5:40 into the second. Barzal deked Panthers defenseman Anton Stralman near the Florida net and then went behind the cage, where he shuffled the puck for several seconds until Stralman sprawled out on the ice. Barzal then passed to Lee who fired a shot over the left shoulder of Montembeault.
The Islanders took advantage of a Panthers turnover to take the lead late in the period. Keith Yandle's clearing pass was picked off in the neutral zone by Adam Pelech, who dished to Jordan Eberle. Bailey took a pass from Eberle and fired a shot that went past defenseman Josh Brown, off the top post and into the net with 2:29 left.
Dadonov capped another end-to-end rush with his game-tying goal with 6:02 left in the third. The right winger took a no-look, between-the-legs pass from Jonathan Huberdeau and fired a shot that sailed past the glove of Varlamov.
--Field Level Media
