Islanders 3, Panthers 2
NEW YORK -- Cal Clutterbuck's goal with 1:38 left in the third period capped a stunning late comeback by the New York Islanders, who scored three goals in the final 7:10 Monday night to beat the Florida Panthers 3-2 at Barclays Center.
The Islanders, who were limited to just 11 shots in the first two periods, tied the game during a dramatic 81-second span late in the third in which Kyle Okposo fired a shot past goalie Roberto Luongo and Josh Bailey tucked a redirected shot into the open right corner of the net.
Clutterbuck scored the game-winner when he corralled a loose puck to the right of the Panthers' net and backhanded a shot at net. The puck appeared to glance off someone's skate and trickled in. Clutterbuck pumped his fists and went to one knee as the crowd erupted.
The Islanders (38-21-8) snapped a two-game losing streak and have won eight of their last 11 games (8-2-1). They moved within one point of the New York Rangers for second place in the Metropolitan Division and four points ahead of the fourth-place Pittsburgh Penguins.
For the Panthers, Aleksander Barkov scored in the first period and had the first assist on Nick Bjugstad's second period goal.
Islanders goalie Thomas Greiss recorded 21 saves.
Luongo made 25 saves for the Panthers (38-22-9), who lost for the sixth time in nine games (3-4-2) and missed a chance to move into first place in the Atlantic Division ahead of the idle Boston Bruins.
The Panthers scored a goal in each of the first two periods to take a 2-0 lead.
Barkov opened up the scoring with 4:49 left in the first. Teammate Alex Petrovic corralled a loose puck near the right faceoff circle, whirled and fired a pass to Barkov, who was all alone to the left of the goalmouth with Greiss stationed to the right. Islanders defenseman Travis Hamonic stuck his stick out but Barkov's shot sailed into the wide open net.
The Panthers doubled the lead 8:03 into the second, when Jaromir Jagr helped poke free a puck during a scrum in front of the Islanders' net. Florida left winger Jonathan Huberdeau and New York center Casey Cizikas battled for the puck, which bounced to Barkov. He sent a pass to Bjugstad, who fired a shot under Greiss' glove.
NOTES: The Islanders scratched G Jaroslav Halak (lower body) as well as RW Steve Bernier, LW Eric Boulton, C Mikhail Grabovski and D Brian Strait. Grabovski was a healthy scratch after being activated earlier in the day from injured reserve, where he spent nine games due to an upper body injury. ... Islanders D Calvin De Haan returned to the lineup after missing four games with a lower body injury. He has played in just three of the Islanders' last 12 games due to the ailment. ... The Panthers scratched C Derek MacKenzie (foot), D Willie Mitchell (upper body) and D Steven Kampfer. ... After making his Barclays Center debut, Panthers RW Jaromir Jagr has now played in 58 current or former NHL arenas.