Matthew Schaefer's assists, Islanders’ five-goal period subdue Panthers

Field Level Media|published: Sat 28th March, 15:58 2026

Mar 28, 2026; Elmont, New York, USA; New York Islanders defenseman Matthew Schaefer (48) plays the puck against Florida Panthers left wing Tomas Nosek (92) during the third period at UBS Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Matthew Schaefer collected a pair of assists to tie the team record for points by a rookie defenseman as the New York Islanders scored five goals in the second period and rallied for a critical 5-2 victory over the visiting Florida Panthers on Saturday afternoon in Elmont, N.Y.

Schaefer ended the game with 56 points and tied the team record set by Stefan Persson during the 1977-78 season. He got the primary assist on a tying goal by Brayden Schenn with 7:51 left and then made the pass that led to Simon Holmstrom's tiebreaking power-play goal nearly three minutes later.

Marc Gatcomb started the comeback for the Islanders (42-27-5, 89 points), who temporarily moved one point ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins into the Metropolitan division's second playoff spot. The Penguins will host the Dallas Stars later Saturday.

Schenn added a pair of assists while Emile Heineman and Casey Cizikas scored 57 seconds apart to cap the big flurry as the Islanders constantly held the puck in the offensive zone and outshot the Panthers 23-5 in the second.

New York goalie Ilya Sorokin made 19 saves

Florida (35-34-3, 73 points) fell to 2-5-0 in its past seven games as backup goalie Danill Tarasov allowed five goals on 40 shots.

Matthew Tkachuk finished off a breakaway with a backhander past Sorokin for a 1-0 lead with 11:54 remaining. He went between his legs to slide the puck by Sorokin after a misplay by New York's Ondrej Palat in front of the Islanders' net. He scored his second of the day just 5:57 later.

Catcomb scored after getting the puck at center ice from Pelech, as he skated by Eetu Luostarinen and Donovan Sebrango and went to the right circle where his shot trickled past Tarasov.

Schenn tied it with 7:51 left in the second when he took a pass from Callum Ritchie near the neutral zone, breezed past Dmitry Kulikov and sent the puck by Tarasov from between the circles.

The Islanders took the lead with 5:08 left when Schaefer made a cross-ice pass to Holmstrom, who used a screen by Bo Horvat to get a shot from the top of the slot into the net.

Heineman's one-timer off a feed from Anders Lee extended the margin to 4-2 with three minutes left and Cizikas scored off a scramble in front to complete the outburst.

--Field Level Media

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