The Florida Panthers got a third period goal from defenseman Karlis Skrastins to earn a 4-2 home ice win over the shorthanded New York Islanders Wednesday night. Tomas Vokoun made 27 saves to earn the win for the Panthers, who appear to be making another late season run for the playoffs. The Islanders, who were playing with a roster full of last minute call-ups from the minors due to illness and injuries, are rapidly falling out of the playoff picture.

The Isles roster looked like a M*A*S*H unit as New York was playing without Ruslan Fedotenko (knee), Bruno Gervais (concussion), Brendan Witt (sprained knee) and Andy Hilbert (foot). Rookie Jeremy Colliton, who was also unavailable because of the flu, was returned to the minors before the game. In their place were recently recalled players from Bridgeport like Ben Walter, Matthew Spiller, Tim Jackman and Steve Regier. Josef Vasicek returned to the lineup after missing Tuesday's game with the flu.

The Islanders dominated play in the first period, outshooting the Panthers 17-7 but Vokoun held his ground and the two teams went into the first intermission scoreless.
Bill Guerin scored the first goal of the game for the Islanders just 28 seconds into the second period. After Rick DiPietro made several spectacular saves for New York, Jeff Tambellini set up a two-on-one break for Richard Park and Guerin. Park made a perfect pass and Guerin's one-timer got the Islanders on the board.

The lead didn't last very long, however. Just 55 seconds later, Kamil Kreps converted on a Panthers two-on-one rush and the game was all even at 1-1. Stephen Weiss gave Florida their first lead of the game when he poked the puck into the net on a scramble in front of the crease just 65 seconds into the third period. The Isles tied it on a power play goal by Blake Comeau, who rifled a shot past Vokoun with 12:42 left on the clock after a pretty pass from Mike Comrie.

Again, the Islanders had trouble dealing with success. Just 1:04 after they tied the score, Skrastins' shot from the point got past DiPietro and gave the Panthers a lead they would never relinquish. It was Skrastins' first goal as a Panther after being acquired from the Avalanche at the trade deadline.

“I was just thinking about getting the puck back in the corner, but somebody yelled to me that I had a little bit of time, so I took my time,” Skrastins said. “I was thinking maybe to pass over, but I just shot and it was a good shot.”

Blake Comeau had a great chance to tie the game in the final minute with Vokoun down on the ice and the top of the net open but his shot sailed just over the crossbar. Brett McLean's empty-netter with just 49 seconds left sealed the victory for the Panthers.

"When things are going bad, they keep going bad," said Isles' coach Ted Nolan. "Blake just missed that last one. In his career, I think Blake will score more than he misses."

Despite the loss, Nolan was satisfied with the effort his young team put forth under difficult circumstances. "We talk a lot about the effort," Nolan explained. "The effort was there and they played hard, with Billy Guerin leading the way. We could have had a couple more lucky breaks go our way in the first to help change the result, but I like how the guys rallied. The kids from Bridgeport played with energy and the veterans led."

The Panthers won their fifth straight game and now stand just five points behind the struggling Philadelphia Flyers in the race for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Islanders fell to 13th place and remain eight points behind Philadelphia with just ten games left to play.

“To be how close we were a few weeks ago and to be where we are now is frustrating,” Comeau said. “Until we’re mathematically out, the guys in this room are going to keep pushing hard. Nobody is ready to lay down and die yet. We’ve got a great attitude in this room.”

The Islanders head to Montreal to play the Canadiens on Saturday night at the Bell Centre before returning home to play the Maple Leafs on Tuesday.

Notes

The Islanders are hoping to get defenseman Bruno Gervais (concussion) back in the lineup on Saturday. Gervais has resumed skating but is waiting for medical clearance to return to action.

In addition, the players who have been recently sidelined, the Islanders have also been without forwards Jon Sim, Shawn Bates and Mike Sillinger for a substantial time while defensemen Andy Sutton and Chris Campoli have been also been out with long-term injuries.