Islanders lose 3rd in a row

SUNRISE, Fla. — That five-game Islanders winning streak now seems like a long time ago.

The Islanders got goals from Brock Nelson and Mathew Barzal on Saturday night, but they were not enough to overcome the Panthers, who recorded a 4-2 victory.

PANTHERS 4

ISLANDERS 2

The Isles have now lost three straight after winning their previous five.

“Tonight, we were in a pretty good spot on the road, tied, just go out there and win a period and win a game,” said Nelson, who leads the Islanders with eight goals.

“We weren’t able to do it. We want to stop it now and get going.”

Coach Barry Trotz agreed.

“We were up 2-1, then gave up a late goal, then 2-2,’’ he said. “They get the powerplay goal and all of a sudden you’re chasing them. We really couldn’t generate much after that goal.”

Aleksander Barkov scored the go-ahead goal for Florida in the third period, and Troy Brouwer, Mike Hoffman and Denis Malgin also scored for the Panthers, who won their third straight.

Roberto Luongo made 29 saves for Florida. Robin Lehner stopped 27 shots in the Islanders net.

Brouwer recorded an empty-net goal with less than a second remaining.

The Panthers went ahead 3-2 on a 4-on-3 power play at 4:43 of the third period when Barkov’s shot from the left circle beat Lehner.

Nelson put the Islanders ahead 2-1 at 8:10 of the second, but Florida tied the game on Hoffman’s goal with 45 seconds left in the period.

The Panthers took a 1-0 lead on Malgin’s goal at 6:18.

The Isles tied it just over a minute later when Barzal flipped a backhanded shot past Luongo on a breakaway.

The Panthers hosted Bill Torrey Tribute Night for the late Hall of Famer who was GM of the Islanders dynasty and later president of the expansion Panthers.