Oliver Ekman-Larsson scored 1:57 into overtime to give the Florida Panthers a 3-2 overtime victory over the New York Islanders at UBS Arena, extending the Cats winning streak to four heading into the All-Star Break.
After a tepidly played first period, who else but the red-hot Sam Reinhart would open the scoring 7:56 into the second.
With Mathew Barzal off for hooking, Carter Verhaghe sent the puck along the boards to Matthew Tkachuk below the goal line and he centered to Reinhart, who blistered a shot from the high slot past Semyon Varlamov. Reinhart became the first Panther to score 20 power-play goals in a season.
The Islanders equalized at 16:29 when Simon Holstrom collected a loose puck in the slot and fired home after an offensive zone faceoff, with the assists going Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Oliver Wahlstrom.
Florida would forge back ahead by notching another power-play goal at the 3:13 mark of the third period. After taking a pass from Brandon Montour, Tkachuk handed the puck off to Barkov. The captain snapped off a low shot that Tkachuk was able to redirect through Varlamov’s five hole for his 16th of the season.
The Cats gagged up a late lead for the second night row, allowing the Islanders to send the game to the extra session. Noah Dobson sent a kniving pass from right to left to an open Kyle Palmieri, who one-timed the pretty at 18:31. Barzal drew the second assist on the game-tying marker.
Storlaz would contribute to the game-winner by stopping Brock Nelson and then gloving the puck to Evan Rodrigues, who sped up the right side. Rodrigues crossed the blue line and sent the puck to Ekman-Larsson and he roofed one on Varlamov from the lower left circle to end it.
The Panthers head into the break with 31-14-4 record, which is the second-best mark in the Eastern Conference behind the Boston Bruins. They have won eight straight road games with Reinhart scoring in all of them, and the 3-1 loss to Calgary prior to that. Unreal! Florida returns to action when they host the Philadelphia Flyers on February 6.
Flotsam & Jetsam
- Sam Reinhart’s goal extended his career-high point streak to 13 games. Reinhart has 18 points (14G/4A) during the run and has notched 19 goals in his past 17 games overall.
- Anthony Stolarz stopped 21 of 23 shots to raise his record to 8-4-2. Stolarz’ heady play to keep the puck moving was his first assist of the season and third of his NHL career.
- Matthew Tkachuk and New York’s Noah Dobson each extended his point streak to five games. Tkachuk has produced four goals and five assists during his, while Dobson has collected nine helpers.
- After missing three games with an injury, Aleksander Barkov has picked up two assists in three games since his return. Barkov was a stellar 15 for 16 on faceoffs last night.
- Semyon Varlamov delivered a quality start, finishing with 34 saves. His record now stands at 6-5-3.
- For more on Florida’s win, which evened the season-series, stop by Lighthouse Hockey,