NHL

Florida Panthers at New York Islanders

· National Hockey League
Final
4 - 5

Lee scores in final minute, Schaefer has 2 more goals as the Islanders beat the Panthers 5-4

Anders Lee scores last-minute winner for Islanders

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.

Regular Season Series

Series tied 1-1

Scoring Summary

Goal 1st Period 3:44 Sandis Vilmanis Goal (3) Backhand, assists: A.J. Greer (11), Sergei Bobrovsky (2)
Goal 1st Period 14:54 Sam Bennett Goal (21) Snap Shot, assists: Aaron Ekblad (19), Matthew Tkachuk (6)
Goal 1st Period 18:01 Matthew Schaefer Goal (19) Slap Shot, assists: Ryan Pulock (21), Mathew Barzal (38)
Goal 2nd Period 7:28 Carson Soucy Goal (5) Snap Shot, assists: Simon Holmstrom (19), Tony DeAngelo (23)
Goal 2nd Period 12:04 Sam Bennett Goal (22) Backhand, assists: Matthew Tkachuk (7)
Goal 2nd Period 17:14 Bo Horvat Goal (25) Snap Shot, assists: Matthew Schaefer (24)
Goal 3rd Period 10:29 Matthew Schaefer Goal (20) Snap Shot, assists: Ondrej Palat (9)
Goal 3rd Period 18:02 Sam Reinhart Goal (28) Snap Shot, assists: Aaron Ekblad (20), Matthew Tkachuk (8)
Goal 3rd Period 19:28 Anders Lee Goal (14) Wrist Shot, assists: Tony DeAngelo (24), Adam Pelech (8)

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/fla.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originFLA https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/nyi.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originNYI
13 Blocked Shots 17
23 Hits 25
5 Takeaways 6
33 Shots 26
1 Power Play Goals 0
3 Power Play Opportunities 1
33.3 Power Play Percentage 0.0
0 Short Handed Goals 0
0 Shootout Goals 0
33 Faceoffs Won 32
50.8 Faceoff Win Percent 49.2
12 Giveaways 15
1 Total Penalties 3
2 Penalty Minutes 6
New York Islanders New York Islanders Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Jonathan Drouin, LW Day-To-Day Mar 2
Kyle Palmieri, C Injured Reserve Nov 30
Florida Panthers Florida Panthers Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Cole Schwindt, RW Injured Reserve Mar 1
Seth Jones, D Injured Reserve Jan 19
Jonah Gadjovich, LW Injured Reserve Jan 5

Game Information

UBS Arena

Location: Elmont, NY
Attendance: 17,255 | Capacity:

2025-26 Atlantic Division Standings

TEAM W L PTS OTL
Tampa Bay 38 16 80 4
Buffalo 35 19 76 6
Detroit 35 20 76 6
Montreal 33 17 75 9
Boston 33 21 71 5
Ottawa 29 22 66 8
Toronto 27 24 64 10
Florida 30 27 63 3

2025-26 Metropolitan Division Standings

TEAM W L PTS OTL
Carolina 38 16 82 6
Pittsburgh 31 15 75 13
NY Islanders 35 21 75 5
Washington 31 24 69 7
Columbus 30 21 68 8
Philadelphia 28 21 67 11
New Jersey 29 29 60 2
NY Rangers 23 29 54 8
Full Standings