In Elmont, the New York Islanders took out some frustration on the Florida Panthers on Friday night, in a 5-1 decision.
The Isles spotted the Panthers a 1-0 lead in the first period on a goal from Matthew Tkachuk.
Ilya Sorokin made 22 saves in the New York win.
Anthony Beauvillier tied the game, 1-1, at 5:20 of the middle frame.
“We’ve played some good games,” Beauvillier said. “Just didn’t get the result we wanted in the last couple games, but I felt like tonight we played a strong game and the guys stepping in did a really good job. It was a full 60-[minute] team effort.”
The Isles’ Ryan Pulock put them ahead, 2-1, with 45 seconds left in the second period.
The Islanders improved to 19-14-2.
“It’s huge, especially going into the break,” New York coach Lane Lambert said. “It’s a situation where you need to get rewarded at some point for your efforts. And I thought our guys did that tonight, so it was important.”
The Islanders Aatu Raty cored jn his debut in the NHL at 7:10 of the third for a 3-1 lead.
“The whole day felt surreal,” Raty said. “This is something that I’ve wanted to do since I can remember. This was so special, especially having a game like this with such a great crowd and getting the win.”
New York put more breathing room between them and the Panthers when Zach Parise scored at 8:21 for a 4-1 lead.
“This was important,” the Isles’ Anders Lee said. “The back-to-back, and after last night dropping that one late in the game, it was imperative that we came out with the right mindset, and we did that from the puck drop. Just played a really solid game.”
Florida dropped to 15-16-4.
“We had no legs tonight,” Florida coach Paul Maurice said. “We just didn’t give enough tonight.”
Beauvillier hit his scored of the game into an empty net at 15:56 of the third for the 5-1 final.
Sergei Bobrovsky made 38 saves in the Panthers loss.
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