ELMONT, N.Y. — Aatu Raty scored in his NHL debut for the New York Islanders in a 5-1 win against the Florida Panthers at UBS Arena on Friday.
Raty was recalled from Bridgeport of the American Hockey League earlier in the day due to an upper-body injury to center. Casey Cizikas. The 20-year-old finished with three shots and two hits in 11:25 of ice time.
“The whole day felt surreal,” Raty said. “This is something that I’ve wanted to do since I can remember. This was so special, especially having a game like this with such a great crowd and getting the win.”
Video: FLA@NYI: Raty buries one from the slot
Anthony Beauvillier had two goals and an assist, Anders Lee had two assists, and Ilya Sorokin made 22 saves for the Islanders (19-14-2), who had lost two straight, including 5-3 at the New York Rangers on Thursday.
“It’s huge, especially going into the break,” New York coach Lane Lambert said. “It’s a situation where you need to get rewarded at some point for your efforts. And I thought our guys did that tonight, so it was important.”
Matthew Tkachuk scored, and Sergei Bobrovsky made 38 saves for the Panthers (15-16-4), who have lost three straight and six of eight. Defenseman Aaron Ekblad Left the game in the first period with an apparent shoulder injury.
“We had no legs tonight,” Florida coach Paul Maurice said. “We just didn’t give enough tonight.”
Video: FLA@NYI: Beauvillier’s 100th goal with empty netter
With the teams skating 4-on-4, Tkachuk made it 1-0 at 8:09 of the first period with his 15th goal of the season. Brandon Montour shot from the top of the left face-off circle, and Tkachuk chipped the rebound over Sorokin.
“Every individual has to find a way to make a difference,” Tkachuk said.
New York tied it 1-1 on Beauvillier’s 100th NHL goal 5:20 into the second period. With Lee screening Bobrovsky, Beauvillier scored on a snap shot from the slot.
“We’ve played some good games,” Beauvillier said. “Just didn’t get the result we wanted in the last couple games, but I felt like tonight we played a strong game and the guys stepping in did a really good job. It was a full 60-[minute] team effort.”
Video: FLA@NYI: Parise rips a shot to the back of the net
Ryan Pulock gave New York a 2-1 lead at 19:15 with his first goal since Oct. 22 (30 games). Following an offensive zone face-off win, Pulock scored from the top of the left circle.
Raty extended the lead to 3-1 at 7:10 of the third period when he cut to the slot and shot over Bobrovsky.
“I didn’t realize I made a move there,” Raty said. “I just thought I got the puck and shot it. I felt like I almost blacked out. Yeah, it felt great.”
Zach Parise made it 4-1 on a backhand at 8:21 before Beauviller scored his eighth of the season into an empty net at 15:50 for the 5-1 final.
“This was important,” Lee said. “The back-to-back, and after last night dropping that one late in the game, it was imperative that we came out with the right mindset, and we did that from the puck drop. Just played a really solid game.”
Video: FLA@NYI: Pulock puts home a goal for the lead
Islanders center Brock Nelson was injured when he was clipped in the back of the head with a clearing pass midway through the second period. New York also lost forward Simon Holmstrom to an apparent knee injury at the end of the second when he collided knee-on-knee with Florida forward Sam Bennett.
Lambert did not have an update on either Nelson or Holmstrom.
NOTES: Maurice said Ekblad was going to be evaluated Saturday; Lambert did not have an update on Nelson or Holmstrom. … Islanders defenseman Parker Wotherspoon had two shots and one hit in 14:47 in his NHL debut after being called up from Bridgeport on Friday. The 25-year-old was selected No. 112 in the 2015 NHL Draft. …Forward Givani Smith had one shot and a team-high four hits in 7:01 in his Panthers debut after being acquired in a trade with the Detroit Red Wings on Monday. … Tkachuk (15 goals, 25 assists) reached 40 points in the fewest games by a Panthers player at the start of his tenure with the team (Pavel Bure, 33 games, 1998-99, 1999-2000).
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