Schenn, acquired at the trade deadline, scored the tying goal in the second period after United States Olympic gold medal winner Matthew Tkachuk put Florida up 2-0 in 14 minutes. Fourth lineman Marc Gatcomb started the comeback and then assisted on Casey Cizikas’ goal that made it 5-2.
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Schaefer with a pair of assists tied Stefan Persson from 1977-78 with 56 points. His next goal will tie Schaefer with Brian Leetch for the most by a rookie defenseman in NHL history.
Ilya Sorokin only allowed Tkachuk’s two goals and stopped the other 17 shots he faced. Swedes Simon Holmstrom and Emil Heineman also scored for the Islanders, who have won two straight since losing three of their previous four.
The injury-ravaged Panthers took another step toward elimination from playoff contention. They are without forwards Brad Marchand, Sam Bennett, Sam Reinhart, Anton Lundell, Evan Rodrigues and AJ Greer and have been without captain Aleksander Barkov all season after he tore ligaments in his right knee during training camp.
Next
Panthers: Visit the Rangers on Sunday.
Islanders: Host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday night.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl