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.[NHL Gamecenter | Game Summary | Event Summary | Natural Stat Trick]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. Petry with the elite poke!Verhaeghe with 6 goals in his last 6 games. pic.twitter.com/cfRSjzpeA1— Jameson Olive (@JamesonCoop) December 7, 2025Two 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:Mat Barzal on the backhand! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/976dakFbge— Islanders Videos (@SNY_Islanders) December 7, 2025If 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:#Islanders 1 @ #Panthers 3 [P3-6:03]:Goal: Seth Jones (5)24’ WristerAssists: A.Lundell (15), S.Reinhart (12)#Isles#TimeToHunt#NHLpic.twitter.com/uVpE7c1U3Z— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalsVideo) December 8, 2025Patrick Roy frames this as a good learning experience for #Isles against a Cup-tested team. And a good learning experience for Max Shabanov on the speed of the game.— Andrew Gross (@AGrossNewsday) December 8, 2025With 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.Up NextAs 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.