Surging Islanders ride last-minute goal from Anders Lee to win over Panthers
Anders Lee scored the go-ahead goal in the final minute, rookie Matthew Schaefer had two more goals and an assist and the New York Islanders edged the Florida Panthers 5-4 on Sunday night.
Carson Soucy and Bo Horvat also scored and David Rittich made 28 saves as the Islanders won their fifth straight game and eighth in their last 10.
The 18-year-old Schaeffer has 20 goals, three behind Hall of Famer Brian Leetch for the most by a rookie defenseman in NHL history.
Sam Bennett scored twice and Sandis Vilmanis and Sam Reinhart each had a goal for Florida, which lost its second in a row. Sergei Bobrovsky made 21 saves for the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Panthers, who are eight points out of a wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
Lee finished a backhand-to-forehand move for his third straight game with a goal to put the Islanders ahead for good with 32 seconds left.
Schaefer had given the Islanders a 4-3 lead with his second goal of the game midway through the third period when he walked in from the blue line and beat Bobrovsky with a wrist shot.
Reinhart tied it at 4 with 1:58 remaining after coach Paul Maurice pulled Bobrovsky for an extra attacker.
Florida took a 2-0 lead with two goals in the first period. Vilmanis slid a backhander through Rittich's legs at 3:44 and Bennett scored on the power play later in the period.
The Islanders pulled within 2-1 late in the first when Schaefer's slap shot deflected several times and bounced over Bobrovsky.
Soucy tied it at 2 with less than eight minutes left in the second.
Bennett restored Florida's lead at 3-2 with his second goal, slipping a backhand under Rittich's blocker. But Horvat scored his team-leading 25th goal to make it 3-3 with less than three minutes remaining in the second.
Islanders forward Jonathan Drouin didn't play because of a lower-body injury.
Up next
Panthers: Visit New Jersey on Tuesday.
Islanders: Visit Anaheim on Wednesday to begin a four-game road trip.