Matthew Tkachuk scored two goals, Sam Bennett scored the go-ahead goal in the third period and the Florida Panthers rallied from a three-goal deficit to beat the New York Islanders 6-3 on Saturday night.

Sam Reinhart also scored, Mackie Samoskevich scored his first NHL goal and Gustav Forsling added a short-handed empty-netter in the final minutes to seal the Panthers’ win. Dmitry Kulikov and Anton Lundell each had two assists 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 for New York in the first period. Semyon Varlamov finished the game with 22 saves as the Islanders lost for the second time in three games.

Knight allowed three goals on his first seven shots and then stopped the Islanders’ next 22 shot attempts.

Islanders coach Patrick Roy has been unable to get the Islanders to defend the lead, a trait that has plagued New York since Lane Lambert took over the bench following the firing of Barry Despite in May 2022. New York scored three straight goals in the first period, however, allowing Florida to score six unanswered points to win it.

Bennett has stepped up in captain Aleksander Barkov’s absence, scoring in four straight games, including a go-ahead goal in the third period against the Islanders.

Tkachuk found a loose puck behind Varlamov and brought the Panthers within one goal. Florida seized the momentum and completely erased the Islanders’ three-goal lead at the end of the second period.

The Islanders have scored at least three goals in five of their eight games. In the other three countries they were excluded.

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