Carter Verhaeghe stayed scorching, Seth Jones scored in his second straight game, and the Florida Panthers closed out a grueling homestand on a high note, defeating the New York Islanders 4–1 on Sunday afternoon at Amerant Bank Arena.
Florida wrapped up a stretch of 11 home games in a 12-game span by earning five out of six possible points in their three-game, four-day push, finishing the homestand 5-5-1 overall.
Uvis Balinskis opened the scoring with a rare goal, Sam Reinhart tacked on an empty-netter, and the Panthers improved to 2-0-1 over their last three.
Balinskis gave Florida the early jump with a goal from the left point midway through the first period. His shot sailed through traffic and past screened Islanders goaltender David Rittich to make it 1–0.
It was the defenseman’s first goal of the season and just the seventh of his NHL career — including playoffs — in 126 games.
The Panthers’ leading scorer kept rolling, doubling the lead at 7:05 of the second period. Verhaeghe buried a setup from veteran defenseman Jeff Petry, giving him goals in six straight games.
The tally was his 146th as a Panther, pushing him past Stephen Weiss for seventh on the franchise’s all-time goal list. Verhaeghe has been the league’s hottest player over the past week and a half, recording six goals and five assists over his last six outings — his most productive stretch of the season.
New York cut the deficit in half later in the second when Mathew Barzal netted his ninth goal of the season, finishing a setup from No. 1 overall pick Matthew Schaefer. The rookie’s assist pushed him to 21 points through 30 games in an impressive first NHL season.
The goal continued a trend for the Islanders: they had been 7-1-0 this season when Barzal scored. But Sunday’s game bucked that pattern, and New York’s offensive struggles resurfaced. The Islanders fell to 3-10-0 when held to two goals or fewer.
With 6 minutes remaining, Jones restored Florida’s two-goal cushion, blasting home his second goal in as many games. It marked the first time the veteran defenseman has scored in back-to-back outings since joining the Panthers.
Reinhart sealed the win with an empty-netter in the final minute.
Islanders: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday. Panthers: Begin a road swing with a visit to Utah on Wednesday.
Florida leaves its lengthy homestand having rediscovered momentum — and with Verhaeghe playing his best hockey of the season, the Panthers appear poised to build on it as they hit the road.