Tkachuk and Bennett help the Panthers rally and beat the Islanders.

NEW YORK — Matthew Tkachuk scored twice, Sam Bennett scored in the third period and the Florida Panthers rallied from three goals down to beat the New York Islanders 6-3 on Saturday night.

Sam Reinhart also scored, Maki Samoskiewicz scored his first NHL goal and Gustav Forsling added an empty-net goal in the final minutes to seal the victory for the Panthers. Dmytro Kulikov and Anton Landell had two assists apiece and Spencer Knight finished with 26 saves as the defending Stanley Cup champions won their second straight.

Dennis Cholowski, Kyle Palmieri and Brock Nelson scored in the first period for New York. Semyon Varlamov finished with 22 saves as the Islanders lost for the second time in three games.

Knight gave up three field goals on his first seven shots before turning away the Islanders’ next 22 attempts.

Takeout

Islanders coach Patrick Roy was unable to get the Islanders to protect their lead. That characteristic has haunted New York since Lane Lambert took over after Barry Trotz was fired in May 2022. New York scored three straight in the first period, but allowed Florida to score six unanswered to win.

Bennett stepped up in the absence of captain Oleksandr Barkov, scoring in four straight games, including the go-ahead goal in the third period against the Islanders.

The key point

Tkachuk found the lost puck behind Varlamov and pulled the Panthers within one goal. Florida seized the moment and completely erased the Islanders’ three-goal lead by the end of the second period.

Key statistics

The Islanders have scored at least three goals in five of their eight games. They were closed in the other three.

Further

The Panthers visit Buffalo on Tuesday while the Islanders wrap up a short two-game homestand against Anaheim.