SUNRISE, Fla. _ Special teams were just that for the Islanders on Thursday night.
They concluded a 2-1-0 road trip with a 3-1 win over the Panthers at BB&T Center as they went 2-for-4 on the man advantage and 3-for-3 on the penalty kill against the seventh-ranked power play in the NHL. The Islanders swept all three games of the season series from the Panthers.
The win ended a grueling stretch of 10 of 13 on the road for the Islanders (21-7-2), who went 5-4-1 in the away games.
Thomas Greiss made 31 saves for the Islanders, who extended their stretch of rotating goalies to start the season to a franchise-record 30 games.
Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 27 shots for the Panthers (15-11-5).
The Islanders beat the Panthers twice in New York.
They won a 3-2 shootout at NYCB Live's Nassau Coliseum on Oct. 12 as Semyon Varlamov made 35 saves and turned aside all three shots in the shootout for his first victory as an Islander. Then, Greiss made 37 saves in a 2-1 win at Barclays Center on Nov. 9 as defenseman Scott Mayfield scored the third-period winner just 38 seconds after the Panthers had tied the game.
The Islanders went ahead 2-0 on Thursday with two power-play goals in the first 4:40 of the second period.
Defenseman Devon Toews, with his first goal in 24 games, connected from the blue line just 49 seconds into the period on a shot that deflected in off the Panthers' Noel Acciari.
That became a two-goal lead at 4:40 as Mathew Barzal finished a tic-tac-toe passing sequence started by Josh Bailey to Jordan Eberle. Eberle also had the primary assist on Toews' goal.
But the Panthers cut the lead to 2-1 at 9:36 of the second period as Mike Hoffman converted a two-on-one feed from defenseman Mark Pysyk against the diving Toews from the left circle.
The Islanders then played the final 8:58 of the second period down two players. Brian Boyle leveled defenseman Adam Pelech in the neutral zone with Pelech's stick hitting his face. Captain Anders Lee immediately confronted Boyle and while both got five-minute fighting majors, Lee received an additional two-minute minor for instigating and a 10-minute misconduct.
Pelech retreated to the Islanders' dressing room for repairs but returned for the third period as Lee continued to sit in the penalty box.
The Islanders beat the Lightning, 5-1, on Monday night as they held the NHL's second-ranked power play without a goal in three chances. That came after the trip opened with a 3-1 loss at Dallas as the Stars went 2-for-2 on the man advantage.
The Islanders entered the game knowing their penalty kill would again play a decisive role.
The Panthers' first chance came in a fast-paced, well-played first period as defenseman Johnny Boychuk was called for roughing Frank Vatrano at 15:15.
It was nearly a textbook penalty kill as a shot didn't get through to Greiss until two seconds remained on the power play. Mayfield blocked two shots and defensemen Pelech and Ryan Pulock blocked one apiece. A second-period power play yielded three shots for the Panthers.
The Panthers did not get a shot on net on their third-period power play while Brock Nelson nearly scored shorthanded.
Greiss then preserved the lead, stretching out his right pad to stop Brett Connolly's backhand at the post at 16:04 of the third period. Lee clinched the win with an empty-net goal with three seconds left.
