Islanders erupt with four-goal third period to stun Panthers in statement win

Here, finally, came a game in which the Islanders went up against a top-end opponent and checked just about every box, including that most important one: winning.This was needed in every way, this comeback 4-2 victory over the Panthers on Sunday night at UBS Arena which saw the Islanders put together a four-goal third period to beat the defending Stanley Cup champions on the night Mike Reilly returned to the lineup following heart surgery.For the emotional state of this club, whose sole win since trading Brock Nelson was a lacking performance at San Jose, for the playoff race in which the Islanders just sort of keep hanging around, and for Reilly — whose recovery after more than four months out is nothing short of remarkable — this was sorely, desperately needed.Reilly’s presence made Sunday about more than hockey, with the defenseman skating nearly 15 minutes, notching an assist and looking as though he had not missed a beat mere months after doctors found an abnormality with his heart while recovering from a concussion.Reilly’s career was never at risk, but that is the sort of thing to make anyone pause and take a beat.

To come back and play so soon, and to do so at a high level in an important game, is as much and more as anyone could have asked.Even so, this was trending toward another loss, and another game in which the Islanders’ goal-scoring proved the decisive issue after trading Brock Nelson.Early in the third period, after a third scoreless power play of the night, a “Let’s go Panthers” chant was heard at UBS with the Islanders trailing 2-0 in a moment which threatened to be the wrong kind of emblematic.Shortly thereafter, Marc Gatcomb put the Islanders on a pathway to making sure it would not be.

The fourth-liner took his own rebound off Tony DeAngelo’s initial shot and scored a wraparound goal to bring the Islanders within 2-1, giving them some badly needed momentum.The lack of a fourth power play following what looked like a Gustav F...