Verhaeghe has fourth career trick in Panthers victory over Islanders

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Carter Verhaeghe had his fourth career hat trick, Sam Reinhart scored his 31st goal and the Florida Panthers beat New York 6-3 on Sunday night to end the Islanders' winning streak at seven games.

Verhaeghe added an assist on Matthew Tkachuk's empty-netter for a four-point night. Reinhart also had an assist.

Evan Rodrigues also scored for Florida, and Spencer Knight made 31 saves. Aleksander Barkov had three assists, and Gustav Forsling added two assists.

Kyle MacLean, Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Marc Gatcomb scored for the Islanders. Jakub Skarek stopped 27 shots.

Verhaeghe opened scoring with a backhander 39 seconds into the game and gave the Panthers a two-goal lead with 7:08 left in the period.

His third came midway through the final period when he snapped home a nice cross-ice feed from Tkachuk. It was Verhaeghe's first hat trick since April 1, 2023, when he had four goals for the Panthers in a victory over Columbus.

Takeaways

Islanders: Had not lost a game since a 5-3 loss at home to Philadelphia on Jan. 16. That was also the last time New York gave up more than two goals. During their winning streak, the Islanders outscored opponents 24-9.

Panthers: Verhaeghe has had a strong two-game stretch, with six points (four goals and two assists).

Key moment

After New York scored three straight second-period goals to take a 3-2 lead, Rodrigues tied it with 2:08 left in the second. Reinhart followed with 51 seconds to go in the period to put the Panthers back on top.

Key stat

The Panthers had five players with multiple points: Verhaeghe (4), Barkov (3), Reinhart (2), Tkachuk (2) and Forsling (2).

Up next

Both teams return to play Tuesday night. The Islanders host Vegas, and the Panthers are at Washington.

___

AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL