Panthers 4 (EN), Islanders 1: UNSYNC

The Islanders couldn’t complete the Florida sweep, though all things considered they can come away marginally pleased to have exited the back-to-back with a couple points. They finished it with a 4-1 loss to the Panthers that they described as “out of sync,” while a positive-looking Patrick Roy said they can take away some learning experiences from the Cup champs.

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After a fella who goes by the name of Uvis Balinskis gave the Panthers a 1-0 lead in the first, Max Shabanov had an oopsy in the second to allow one-that-got-away Carter Verhaeghe to make it 2-0.

Two minutes after that one, Mat Barfzal scored another backhand goal to keep the Isles in it and give them some spirit. Great netfront disruption by Anders Lee and yet another assist (13) for Matthew Schaefer:

If they were going to pull this off, it was likely going to be like the win in Tampa where the Isles hung around long enough for a smash-and-grab. But that never happened.

Despite only mustering three shots in the third period, they weren’t totally out of it until deep in the final frame when Seth Jones restored the Panthers’ two-goal lead at 4-on-4. Coverage on the play was a perplexing mixup for Schaefer and Tony DeAngelo:

With Dave Rittich pulled for a sixth attacker, Sam Reinhart sealed it into the empty net with just under three minutes to go, allowing us all to get back to our Sunday evening.

• Despite some rumblings stirred by Mathieu Darche’s media update, J-G Pageau did not return to the lineup. Sounds like he’ll be in this week though.

• Travis Mitchell slotted back in for Adam Boqvist, who didn’t get the chance to face his brother and his old team. Mitchell was minus-2 in 13 minutes.

• After his miscues leading to the Verhaeghe goal, Shabanov and Simon Holmstrom were swapped between the second and third lines.

As the Isles return home, the fun continues with a visit from Vegas Tuesday night, the upstart Ducks on Thursday and one more meeting with the Lightning — who will surely be out for blood — on Saturday.