Panthers 6 (EN), Islanders 3: Streak ends with fatigue in Skarek’s debut

3 weeks ago  /  Lighthouse Hockey  /  Read Time: 3 minutes 9 seconds

Exhausted, probably. | Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images


The streak is over, but at least no one else got hurt, maybe? The New York Islanders’ seven game win streak came to an end in Florida, with former Islanders property Carter Verhaeghe delivering the heaviest damage via his fourth NHL hat trick, but the Isles can return home happy about how they’ve revived their season while enduring a daunting string of injuries.
Playing on a back-to-back, the Islanders finally gave 2018 draft pick Jakub Skarek his NHL debut at age 25. Skarek allowed five goals on 32 shots, hardly a banner debut but not marked by any howlers. The Isles looked fatigued overall and it would’ve taken an impressive debut to get points amid some of the mistakes made in front of him.
Their task was made tougher by missing two more bodies as both Mat Barzal and Scott Mayfield were unavailable, with the only prognosis that they’ll be re-evaluated when the team returns home. Anthony Duclair stepped back in after missing the previous night with illness, while Dennis Cholowski was back in for his first game since Jan. 24.
[NHL Gamecenter | Game Summary | Event Summary | Natural Stat Trick]
The Isles didn’t do Skarek any favors to start his debut. Though his first-ever shot faced was a routine one, the second one was a golden opportunity at the top of the crease for Verhaeghe. Max Tsyplakov fell on the play which helped the Panthers counter within the Isles zone, but that didn’t fully account for them losing the puck up the left wing boards and being outnumbered down low. At 0:39, the Isles were already trailing.
Verhaeghe made it 2-0 a little past the midway point, finishing a rebound that bounced right to him after Kyle Palmieri fumbled the puck in the neutral zone.


Carter Verhaeghe’s off to an exceptional start with two goals in the first period. pic.twitter.com/pgwhUjkke8— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) February 2, 2025




The Isles were outshot 14-5 in the period, so getting out of it trailing by only two was mild consolation.
The second period was a thing of wonder until it was a thing of frustrating despair. They chipped their way back into the game, then in the final five minutes they blew the equity they built.
Kyle MacLean scored on a rebound to get them on the board at 3:10, his third goal of the season and first since Dec. 8.
Then at the end of a power play that was a jaw-dropping mess with no pressure and several scary shorthanded moments allowed, they got one successful entry and J-G Pageau pounded in a rebound just before the Panthers got back to even strength. That tied it at 2-2 at the 10:00 midway point, and it was a new game.


#Isles Pageau on the PP, as the hockey gods intended to tie the game at 2-2: pic.twitter.com/OFjK0OqoWf— The Elmonters (@TheElmonters) February 3, 2025




Marc Gatcomb was called for a really weak penalty, but the revived penalty kill stood tall again, and Skarek made a good save that led to a breakaway for Gatcomb as he came out of the box. He didn’t score there, but he quickly deflected an Adam Pelech shot to give the Isles a 3-2 lead with 5:09 to go in the period.


Marc Gatcomb! What a deflection! #Isles pic.twitter.com/glYQzpwaNz— Rob Taub (@RTaub_) February 3, 2025




Instead of playing sure-handed to reach the intermission holding a lead, however, the Isles looked like a tired team as the Panthers ramped up the pressure. Pelech was among those out for a long shift — 1:56 in his case — and he lost his man coming out of the corner, leaving Evan Rodrigues free to take a pass right on the doorstep to tie it at 3-3 with 2:08 to go.
The next sin wasn’t from Panthers pressure but from mistakes. DeAngelo made a limp pass from the neutral zone that was easily intercepted, then both he and particularly Romanov did not play the ensuing 2-on-2 counterattack well. Romanov had position but let Sam Reinhart get by him to tap in his 31st goal of the season and give the Panthers a 4-3 lead with 50 seconds left in the period.
The third period wasn’t as bad as it looks, given the circumstances. The Isles looked tired — and DeAngelo was the latest injury scare when he walked down the tunnel but returned — but they put up an effort even after Verhaeghe completed his hat trick at 10:41 to make it 5-3.
They performed the perfunctory duty of pulling Skarek for a sixth attacker amid a late power play, but they couldn’t get anything going and eventually Matthew Tkachuk capped it with an empty netter at 18:21.
Trivia of the Night
The in-game trivia was a fun one: DeAngelo became the fifth Islander to score his first NHL goal in overtime — all of them defensemen. The others were Thomas Hickey, Devon Toews, Mark Eaton and Radek “Victory Lap” Martinek.
Up Next
The Islanders return home but only briefly, to start a three-game stretch against the league’s top teams before the 4 Nations break: Home to Vegas on Tuesday, followed by a back-to-back in Winnipeg and Brock Nelson’s once and future home, Minnesota....

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