SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Carter Verhaeghe stayed red-hot with his sixth goal in his last six games, Seth Jones scored for the second consecutive game and the Florida Panthers closed a homestand by topping the New York Islanders 4-1 on Sunday.

Uvis Balinskis got a rare goal for the Panthers, who finished off a three-game, four-day stint with five points — going 2-0-1. Florida wrapped up a stretch where it played 11 out of 12 games at home, going 5-5-1 in those home contests.

Sam Reinhart added an empty-netter for Florida.

Mathew Barzal got his ninth goal for the Islanders, who had won three straight and were 7-1-0 in games when he had scored this season. No. 1 overall pick Matthew Schaefer had an assist on that goal, giving him 21 points through 30 games of his rookie season.

Balinskis sent the puck toward the net from the left point and it sailed past screened Islanders goalie David Rittich for a 1-0 lead. It was the first goal of the season for Balinskis and just the seventh of his career — including playoffs — in 126 NHL games.

Verhaeghe made it 2-0 at 7:05 of the second period off an assist from Jeff Petry. Verhaeghe — who got his 146th goal as a member of the Panthers, breaking a tie with Stephen Weiss for seventh on the team’s all-time list — has six goals and five assists in his last six games, by far his most productive stretch of the season.

Jones made it 3-1 with 6 minutes left, scoring for the second straight game — the first time he’s done that as a Panther.

The Islanders fell to 3-10-0 in games where they score two goals or fewer this season.

Up next

Islanders: Host Vegas on Tuesday.

Panthers: Visit Utah on Wednesday.

Macklin Celebrini recorded a goal and two assists as the San Jose Sharks snapped their two-game skid with a 4-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes Sunday night at the Lenovo Center. 

Alex Wennberg also contributed a goal and an assist, while John Klingberg added a goal. Collin Graf chipped in a goal, and Alex Nedeljkovic made 29 saves to secure the victory. 

For Carolina, Jordan Staal scored their lone goal, and Pyotr Kochetkov made 17 saves in the losing effort. 

First Period 

The Sharks struck almost instantly, taking a 1-0 lead just 33 seconds into the game. Celebrini set up Graff for a backdoor tap-in, giving San Jose an early jolt. The play originated when Jordan Martinook turned the puck over in his own zone, allowing Will Smith to seize possession and feed Celebrini, who wasted no time finding Graff for the finish. 

Carolina’s Jesperi Kotkaniemi was sent to the penalty box at 6:15 for hooking Dmitry Orlov, putting San Jose on the power play, but the Sharks were unable to capitalize. 

Later, with less than seven minutes remaining in the period, Celebrini was penalized for holding. The Canes took full advantage, tying the game when Eric Staal redirected a shot from Nedeljkovic past the Sharks’ netminder on the power play. 

That didn't take long! 🦈

Macklin Celebrini finds Collin Graf just 33 seconds in! pic.twitter.com/GVrQt5njRL

— NHL (@NHL) December 7, 2025

Second Period 

Nearly eight minutes into the second, Celebrini dazzled again, threading a perfect feed to Klingberg for a one-timer in the slot. The former Edmonton Oiler buried it, restoring San Jose’s lead. 

Carolina’s Jackson Blake went to the box with 5:09 left for tripping Celebrini as he approached Kochetkov with a scoring chance. The Sharks made him pay: Wennberg slammed home a rebound from a William Eklund one-timer, extending the Sharks’ advantage to two goals. 

Third Period

Just over five minutes into the third, Jeff Skinner received a two-minute minor for cross-checking Alexander Nikishin into the boards. Despite the man advantage, Carolina failed to convert as the Sharks killed the penalty. 

Later, Eklund carried the puck into the right circle on a 2-on-1 rush. He faked a pass and fired a shot, but Kochetkov wasn’t fooled, making the stop. 

With 1:53 remaining, Kochetkov was pulled for the extra attacker. Jarvis tried to shovel a shot from the doorstep, but Nedeljkovic held firm amid a crowd of players. 

Carolina’s efforts ultimately fell short. Nikolai Ehlers turned the puck over, which Celebrini recovered and quickly moved up the ice to Wennberg, who was tripped by Jarvis. While the officials initially raised their hands for a penalty, play continued, and Wennberg managed to pass to Celebrini while still on the ice. Celebrini calmly deposited the empty-netter with 1:20 left, sealing a 4-1 victory for the Sharks. 

Notables

With a three-point night, Celebrini now has 43 points on the seasonm which is 2nd best in the NHL behind Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon, who has 49 points. With his two assists on the day, Celebrini is now in a first-place tie with Edmonton’s Connor McDavid with 28 assists on the year. 

It's safe to say, the 19-year-old is making a name for himself. Take a look at these stats.

100 games in to his NHL career, Macklin Celebrini is up there with some of the greats 🦈 pic.twitter.com/nWYBm1z2O0

— NHL (@NHL) December 7, 2025

Celebrini isn't of legal drinking age in the United States and he's already a legend in the making. 

With a three-point night, Macklin Celebrini now has 43 points on the season, ranking second in the NHL behind Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon, who leads with 49 points. His two assists on Sunday also put him in a first-place tie with Edmonton’s Connor McDavid, each recording 28…

— Ryan O'Hara (@OHaraSports) December 8, 2025

Next Game 

The Sharks (14-13-3) continue their road trip on Tuesday when they take on the Philadelphia Flyers (15-9-3) at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Coverage begins at 4 p.m. local time.  

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SUNRISE -- After shutting out the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-0 on Saturday, the New York Islanders failed to sweep the back-to-back, falling 4-1 to the Florida Panthers on Sunday evening. 

The Islanders were 4-0-0 on the second leg of back-to-backs prior to this game.

Here's how it happened: 

Goaltender David Rittich did a phenomenal job tracking pucks early, but a seeing-eye shot from Uvis Balinskis at 12:14 of the first gave the Panthers a 1-0 lead:

grinding. pic.twitter.com/tsycuPUusN

— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) December 7, 2025

That snapped the Islanders' three-game streak of scoring first.

The Islanders' fourth line started to shift momentum, ever so slightly, garnering some chances. 

Kyle MacLean got a glorious feed from Casey Cizikas but he rang the left post at 19:16 of the first. 

The Panthers took a 2-0 lead at 7:05 of the second period after Maxim Shabanov committed his second turnover of the shift and third mistake. After making a great read in the offensive zone, he waited too long to shoot, leading to a blocked shot. 

Then, as he tried to get a cycle going down low, he didn't get enough on the pass, turning the puck over. He made a strong effort to get back -- which he did --, but then he turned the puck over to Carter Verhaeghe, who ripped the rubber glove side:

Dad mode ENGAGED.

That’s Verhaeghe’s FOURTH goal as a dad 🔥 pic.twitter.com/4zKS00rKkU

— Spittin' Chiclets (@spittinchiclets) December 7, 2025

Head coach Patrick Roy swapped Shabanov with Simon Holmstrom for the remainder of the game. 

Mathew Barzal got the Islanders on the board at 9:03 of the second. He received a quick feed from Matthew Schaefer stationed at the point, before his backhander went off of Florida defenseman Gustav Forsling's behind and in:

Mathew Barzal backhander gets #Isles on the board…and, oh yeah, another point for Mathew Schaefer: pic.twitter.com/GO64SsiXzU

— The Elmonters (@TheElmonters) December 7, 2025

 The Islanders couldn't get the equalizer before the second period came to a close. 

In the third period, the Islanders struggled to create much, with just three shots on goal. 

During 4-on-4 play, Seth Jones scored off the rush at 13:57 of the third after Tony DeAngelo and Matthew Schaefer got crossed up:

holy highlight reel, mr. jones pic.twitter.com/4IY9lmrQKs

— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) December 8, 2025

Sam Reinhart added an empty-net goal at 17:05 of the third for the 4-1 final. 

The Florida Panthers wrapped up an extended homestand when they hosted the New York Islanders on Sunday night in Sunrise.

For just the third time this season, the Panthers have picked points in three straight games after taking down the Islanders 4-1.

Florida picked up the game’s opening goal, and it came off the stick of one of their defensemen.

Cats youngster Mackie Samoskevich carried the puck from behind New York’s net and into the corner, sliding it to a waiting Balinskis at the point.

He fired a wrist shot that traveled through a screen and past Islanders goalie David Rittich to give Florida a 1-0 lead at the 12:14 mark.

The Cats doubled their lead just past the seven-minute mark of the middle frame thanks to a great steal by Sam Bennett.

With the puck in the corner to Rittich’s right, Bennett dug the puck out from between two Islanders and backhanded a pass to the high slot, where Jeff Petry poked the puck to Carter Verhaeghe at the side of the net.

Verhaeghe’s quick shot snuck between Rittich and the near post to give Florida a 2-0 lead with 12:55 to go in the second period.

Almost exactly two minutes later, Matthew Barzal fired a shot that went off the backside of Gustav Forsling before awkwardly bouncing underneath Tarasov to cut Florida’s lead in half.

It took a while before we saw the game’s next goal.

This time it was Anton Lundell finding Seth Jones moving into the Islanders zone, and Jones cut to the middle of the ice before wiring a nasty wrist shot over Rittich’s glove to put Florida back in front by two with 6:03 to go.

A Sam Reinhart empty-net goal would seal the deal for the Cats.

The win was Florida’ second straight, improving their record to 14-12-2 on the season.

On to Utah.

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Photo caption: Dec 7, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers center Carter Verhaeghe (23) celebrates with defenseman Jeff Petry (2) after scoring against the New York Islanders during the second period at Amerant Bank Arena. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)

The Montreal Canadiens have made a roster move ahead of their Dec. 7 matchup against the St. Louis Blues, as they have called up goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen from their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Laval Rocket. 

The Canadiens announced that goaltender Samuel Montembeault is sick. As a result, the Canadiens have called up Kahkonen, and he will be backing up Jakub Dobes against the Blues. 

Kahkonen has played in nine games this season for Laval, where he has posted a 6-2-0 record, a .895 save percentage, and a 2.81 goals-against average. This is after the Canadiens signed the 29-year-old goaltender to a one-year, $1.15 million contract during this off-season. 

Kahkonen has appeared in 140 career NHL games over six seasons split between the Minnesota Wild, San Jose Sharks, New Jersey Devils, and Colorado Avalanche, where he has recorded a 49-68-15 record, a 3.34 goals-against average, and a 3.34 goals-against average. 

The Buffalo Sabres once again are in the midst of a letdown of a season. They’re currently in last place in the Eastern Conference with a 11-13-4 record, and they’ve lost four of their past six games. Buffalo is now about to play Game 2 of a five-game west coast road trip, and if they can’t make any headway in the standings when they take on the lowly Calgary Flames, Vancouver Canucks and Seattle Kraken, the Sabres’ Stanley Cup playoff hopes are going to be all but snuffed out.

But there could be some help on the horizon if Sabres GM Kevyn Adams plays his trade cards right. Because if there’s one thing Buffalo has more than enough of right now, it’s something that’s highly-prized in other NHL markets – and that’s goaltending.

As it stands right now, the Sabres have three NHL-capable netminders: starter Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, veteran Alex Lyon and youngster Colten Ellis. At a time when some NHL teams don’t have even a single reliable goaltending option, Adams should be able to not only find a taker for one of his goalies, but also to drum up a healthy return for them on the trade market. 

From this writer’s perspective, Buffalo’s best trade chip is Luukkonen. The 26-year-old’s individual numbers – while not indicative of an above-average performance at a .895 save percentage and 2.57 goals-against average – aren’t horrendous on an otherwise terrible Sabres team. And he’s signed to reasonable money ($4.75-million per season). The real stumbling point is that Luukkonen is signed through the 2028-29 season. But Adams has to get something for Luukkonen, and that probably means making a move well in advance of the March 6 trade deadline.

We say that because if he waits too long to cash in on Luukkonen, Adams risks the trade market drying up. So, from our perspective, if Buffalo finishes the season with these same three goalies, it will be an opportunity lost. The Sabres have some solid depth at the most crucial position there is, and they need to convert one of their assets to help them in other areas.

Adams has to recognize a trade partner or two for Luukkonen sometime soon and see if he can’t stir up a robust market for him. Because this is not a player Adams absolutely has to trade. Luukkonen is a valuable, younger player who is cost-controlled for the foreseeable future, and for better or worse, you can’t say that about many goalies in the league. Luukkonen may indeed benefit from playing in front of a defensively-sound set of forwards and defensemen, so giving him away would be a fireable offense.

Grading The Sabres At The One-Third Mark Of The Season: The ForwardsWe're handing out grades to the Sabres at the one-third point of the season, and in this file, we're grading Buffalo's forwards. And as reflects the Sabres' season, Buffalo's grade for its forwards is disappointing one.

A Luukkonen trade isn’t imminent, and who knows – maybe there’s a road to him staying in Buffalo. But in a season where the Sabres are once again playing their way out of Stanley Cup playoff contention, significant trades are going to be coming. And a Luukkonen trade would signify that Adams is open for business, so long as the price is right.

With Ellis and AHLer Devon Levi, the Sabres project to have a solid tandem for the next decade or so. And let’s be real here – Buffalo isn’t where they are in the standings right now because Luukkonen goaltended them there. He’s put in decent enough work, and in the right situation, he could challenge his career-best full-season SP average of .910. 

Grading The Sabres At The One-Third Mark Of The Season: The GoaliesIn our ongoing series, we're grading the Sabres' season at each position. And in this file, we're grading Buffalo's netminders.

Thus, Adams has to find a way to convert Luukkonen into some sort of notable asset. When NHL-capable goalies are hard to come by, having many of them should be a benefit to you by trading them for help in other areas. And for us, that goalie trade should be one that sends Luukkonen out of Western New York to a team that’s in need of him.

The New York Rangers are set to play the Vegas Golden Knights tonight at 7:00 PM EST at Madison Square Garden.

Here’s all you need to know ahead of this matchup: 

Projected Lineup:

Forwards:

Artemi Panarin - Mika Zibanejad -  Alexis Lafrenière

Conor Sheary - Vincent Trocheck - J.T. Miller

Will Cuylle - Noah Laba - Brett Berard

Jonny Brodzinski - Sam Carrick - Taylor Raddysh

Defensemen:

Vladislav Gavrikov - Braden Schneider

Carson Soucy - Will Borgen

Matthew Roberston - Scott Morrow 

Goaltenders: 

Jonathan Quick

Igor Shesterkin 

Notable Storylines: 

• Jonathan Quick is set to start for the Rangers. 
• The Rangers are coming off of a 3-2 loss to the Colorado Avalanche. 
• The Rangers currently hold a 15-12-3 record. 
• The Golden Knights are coming off of a 3-0 win over the Devils.