The Islanders needed Ilya Sorokin to be nearly perfect to have a chance to beat the Panthers on Tuesday night.
But while Sorokin kept them in the game, he could not win it himself, as Aleksander Barkov completed a hat trick just 20 seconds into overtime to give Florida a 3-2 victory at UBS Arena.
After Jean-Gabriel Pageau gave the Islanders a 2-1 lead 1:01 into the third period, they were unable to hold onto that advantage. Barkov scored his second goal of the game with 3:58 to go, converting a rebound in the low slot at four-on-four to tie it.
In overtime, Barkov converted a feed from Jonathan Huberdeau on the doorstep for the game-winner.
Despite getting outshot heavily, the Islanders took the lead on Sebastian Aho’s second-period goal after Andy Greene fed him across the ice on a delayed penalty. Florida tied the score at 1-1 on Barkov’s wrist shot from the top of the slot during a power play at 14:12 of the second.
The Panthers, as is their nature, had the better of the chances and the bulk of possession throughout the game. It was down to Sorokin, who finished with 39 saves, to keep the Islanders in it. In that, he flourished, continuing a run of excellence over the past month.
As has been the case for much of the season, the Islanders (35-31-10) couldn’t do enough offensively, and their defense relied too heavily on Sorokin to bail it out.
Against an elite Panthers team looking to make a deep playoff run a few weeks from now, that was never going to be enough.