SUNRISE, Fla. _ Mathew Barzal fell one point shy of reaching a somewhat rare NHL milestone. The struggling Islanders were just short on goals.
Barzal scored a goal but just missed becoming the 11th player in the last 25 seasons to compile 100 points in their first 100 games as the Islanders lost to the Panthers, 4-2, on Saturday night at BB&T Center.
Robin Lehner made 27 saves for the Islanders (8-6-2), who have lost three straight, while Roberto Luongo stopped 29 shots for the Panthers (5-5-3), who have won three straight since their No. 1 goalie returned from a lower-body injury suffered in the season opener.
Aleksander Barkov's four-on-three power-play goal at 4:43 of the third period _ Islanders defenseman Adam Pelech lost the puck at the opposing blue line with the teams skating four on four and was called for interference as he tried to recover _ gave the Panthers a 3-2 lead. Troy Brouwer added an empty-netter
The Islanders again struggled in the second period, as they did in Thursday's 4-2 loss to the Lightning. But Brock Nelson did give the Islanders a 2-1 lead at 8:10 of the first period maneuvering through the Panthers' defense to the slot.
But the Islanders, now in a 1-for-19 power-play rut after going 0-for-4 against the Panthers, missed out on two, second-period man advantages. That included a weak tripping call on Denis Malgin against Islanders defenseman Nick Leddy just 11 seconds into the period that was negated 38 seconds later with a weak high-sticking call on Leddy against Vincent Trocheck.
The Panthers tied the game at 2 with 45.1 seconds left in the second period as the Islanders iced the puck, lost the defensive zone faceoff and Mike Hoffman, who scored the overtime winner in the Panthers' come-from-behind 3-2 win at Barclays Center on Oct. 24, banked in a shot off the left skate of Islanders defenseman Ryan Pulock.
Barzal, 21, won the Calder Trophy as the NHL's rookie of the year with 22 goals and 63 assists, tying Hall of Famer Bryan Trottier's club record for most assists for a rookie, and he now has two goals and 12 assists as a sophomore.
That's 99 points in 100 games. On Saturday, he was moved in between top-line wings Anders Lee and Josh Bailey, the spot former captain John Tavares vacated when he signed a seven-year, $77 million deal with the Maple Leafs.
"It's just been a fun ride the last year and a bit," Barzal said. "It went by quick. There's ups and downs being the first 100 games, getting used to the speed and the size of these guys up here. I just trying to adapt and keep playing my game."
Coach Barry Trotz repeated that his job is to help Barzal elevate his game.
"He's an elite talent," Trotz said. "We're in a partnership there, to make him an elite player and there's a difference. He's made some strides on being on the right side of the puck and understanding situational play a little better. That'll come."
Barzal tied the game at 1 at 7:28 of the first period as Lee sprung him at the Panthers' blue line for a breakaway and he flipped a backhander over Luongo.
Malgin had made it 1-0 at 6:20, beating Pelech to the crease and taking a feed from Jared McCann.
