SUNRISE, Fla. —
Frans Nielsen scored the only goal in the shootout and the New York Islanders beat the Florida Panthers 3-2 on Sunday night.
Kyle Okposo and Matt Moulson scored in regulation, and Evgeni Nabokov stopped 33 shots.
Tomas Fleischmann, and Stephen Weiss scored for Florida, and Jose Theodore made 35 saves.
The Islanders missed a chance to win with about a minute left in overtime. Michael Grabner had an open net but his shot hit the stick of Florida’s Ed Jovanovski.
Florida is three points ahead of Washington for the Southeast Division beat. Washington beat Minnesota 3-0 on Sunday.
The Panthers have lost three straight after a five-game winning streak. The Islanders won for just the third time in nine games.
The Islanders tied it 2 at 12:22 of the third when Okposo scored while attempting to pass the puck. His pass from the top of the right circle was intended for Mark Streit, but it glanced off the stick of Florida’s Dmitry Kulikov and into the net.
Florida went ahead 2-1 on Fleischmann’s goal at 9:51 of the third. Streit attempted to bring the puck out from behind his own net but it hit the back of an Islander’s player along the boards above the right circle. Fleischmann grabbed the loose puck and his shot from the right circle got past Nabakov. Fleischmann leads the Panthers with 56 points.
The Islanders tied it at 1 on Moulson’s power-play goal late in the second. John Tavares passed the puck from the bottom of the left circle back to Moulson in the slot. He fired the puck past Theodore at 18:57, his team-leading 34th goal of the season.
The Panthers opened the scoring on Weiss’ goal in the first, his 19th of the season. Tomas Fleischmann passed the puck from behind the Islanders’ net to Weiss in front. His slap shot beat Nabokov at 5:55.
Notes: Islanders forward Moulson has 14 points in his past 14 games. … Islanders C Tavares has 12 points in his past eight games. … The Panthers wore their alternate two-toned blue jerseys for the last time Sunday.