Cutting the lead in half for the Islanders in the second period, Marc Gatcomb scored on a wrist shot at 5:28.
Adding another for the Islanders at 12:09, Brayden Schenn evened the score at 2-2.
Putting the Islanders ahead at 14:52, Simon Holmstrom found the back of the net on the power play to make it 3-2.
Getting the fourth and fifth goals of the period for the Islanders, Emil Heineman made it 4-2 at 17:00 and Casey Cizikas pushed it to 5-2 57 seconds later.
A tighter third period, each team registered eight shots, but were unable to bring a change to the scoreboard.
With the strong second period performance, the Islanders rode off with the 5-2 win.
“Nobody’s quitting here,” said Tkachuk. “The third period was definitely better than the second. We could have definitely thrown in the towel, and we didn’t.”
THEY SAID IT
“Simplify your game, make sure your feet are moving, and keep it simple.” – Jack Studnicka
“He’s (Tkachuk) probably the freshest guy we’ve got, with his time off. He’s leading our team.” – Paul Maurice
CATS STATS
– Matthew Tkachuk and Carter Verhaeghe each had four shots
– Seth Jones logged 25:21 time on ice
– Gustav Forsling had three blocked shots
– Cole Reinhardt and Donovan Sebrango each had three hits
WHAT’S NEXT?
The “World’s Most Famous Arena.”
The Panthers will close out their weekend back-to-back against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.
Join fellow fans at Funky Buddha for the official watch party!
For more info, click here.