National Hockey League
BOXSCORE | RECAP
NY Islanders 4, Florida 3
When: 7:30 PM ET, Saturday, March 16, 2013
Where: BB&T Center, Sunrise, Florida
Referees: Dan O'Halloran, Chris Rooney
Linesmen: Tim Nowak, Vaughan Rody
Attendance: 17627


Islanders 4, Panthers 3: Casey Cizikas scored to snap a tie with 7:05 remaining in the third period as visiting New York rebounded after squandering a three-goal lead earlier in the session.

Brad Boyes tallied for the third straight game and Kyle Okposo and defenseman Radek Martinek also scored. Evgeni Nabokov turned aside 27 shots for the Islanders, who improved to 5-1-1 in March.

Defenseman T.J. Brennan scored in his first contest with his new team after being acquired from Buffalo on Friday. Marcel Goc and Mike Santorelli tallied 69 seconds apart to forge a 3-3 tie for the Panthers, who fell to 0-5-1 in their last six games and 1-14-4 when their opponent scores the first goal.

Cizikas regained the advantage for the Islanders after accepting a centering feed from Colin McDonald before his one-timer in the slot sailed past Scott Clemmensen (21 saves). Nabokov made the slim advantage stand up as New York secured its first regulation win at the Panthers since March 17, 2007.

After stopping all 18 shots in New York's 2-0 triumph over Tampa Bay on Thursday, Nabokov breezed into the third period with a 3-0 lead against Florida. Brennan ended the Russian netminder's bid for his 55th career shutout at 5:09 of the session before Goc went under the crossbar just 34 seconds later. Santorelli leveled the contest at 3-3 after cleaning up a rebound from Jack Skille's shot.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Boyes has nine points (four goals, five assists) in his last seven contests. ... The Panthers, who failed on their lone power-play attempt, are 0-for-17 with the man advantage in March. ... Florida D Ed Jovanovski returned to the ice after being sidelined with a knee injury since Jan. 29. He exited after the second period on Saturday.

Top Game Performances
 
NY Islanders   Florida
Brad Boyes 1 Points Mike Santorelli 2
Brad Boyes 1 Goals Mike Santorelli 1
Keith Aucoin 1 Assists Mike Santorelli 1
N/A Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Evgeni Nabokov .900 Save Percentage Scott Clemmensen .840
Evgeni Nabokov 27 Saves Scott Clemmensen 21
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
NY Islanders 25 4 0-0 1-1 7 27
Florida 30 3 0-1 0-0 5 24
Upcoming Games
  • Florida will play their next game on the road against Carolina. The Panthers have a W/L % of .143 after a win and .238 after a loss.
  • NY Islanders will play their next game at home against Ottawa. The Islanders have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .467 after a loss.