Panthers 4, Islanders 2
Rookie goaltender Jacob Markstrom played brilliantly in relief of Jose Theodore, stopping all 18 shots he faced in the third period to lift the Florida Panthers to a 4-2 victory over the visiting New York Islanders on Saturday night.
Shawn Matthias had a goal and two assists and Tim Kennedy and Matt Bradley each scored their first goals with Florida as the Panthers snapped a two-game losing streak in which they had failed to score.
Kris Versteeg added a first-period goal for Florida, ending its scoreless drought at 137 minutes and 52 seconds.
Markstrom stopped Michael Grabner on a breakaway and faced a flurry of shots during a New York power play with under four minutes left, including a 5-on-3 for 43 seconds, to earn his first career victory in just his third appearance over two seasons. Theodore had faced only 10 shots in the first two periods before leaving due to cramps.
Kennedy delivered the go-ahead goal at 4:00 of the third period before Shawn Matthias iced it with an empty-netter with 25 seconds to play.
Mark Streit and John Tavares each had a power-play goal and one assist apiece for the Islanders, who fell to 1-9 in their last 10 in Florida.
Prior to the game, the Panthers traded David Booth, Steven Reinprecht and a 2013 third-round draft pick to Vancouver for Marco Sturm and Mikael Samuelsson.