NEW YORK _ Something was clearly amiss for the Islanders through their first four games, three of them defeats, though the losses did not define what was going wrong.
They did not have the same defensive crispness, the same consistent goaltending, the same ability to roll four lines, the same all-out willingness to compete for pucks that fueled their run to the second round of last season's playoffs.
Much of that came back for stretches in Saturday night's 3-2 shootout win over the Florida Panthers at NYCB Live's Nassau Coliseum as the team celebrated its alumni weekend with Hall of Famers Bryan Trottier, Clark Gillies and Denis Potvin among the returning players.
One game, of course, is not a trend, so Monday's matinee against the defending Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues at the Coliseum will be a good test to see if the Islanders are returning to past form.
Coach Barry Trotz, looking to spark his team's five-on-five attack, revamped all but his top line of Mathew Barzal centering captain Anders Lee and right wing Jordan Eberle. Eberle exited the game at 17:26 of the third period after a hard check from defenseman Mike Matheson appeared to buckle his right leg.
Semyon Varlamov made 35 saves for the Islanders while backup goalie Sam Montembeault stopped 26 shots for the Panthers (1-2-2).
Varlamov stopped all three shots he faced in the shootout, clinching it with a save on Jonathan Huberdeau. Brock Nelson scored in the first round for the Islanders.
Evgenii Dadonov, off a feed from Jonathan Huberdeau on the rush, tied the game at 2-2 at 13:58 of the third period, beating Varlamov over his glove from the right circle.
The Islanders were coming off Friday night's 5-2 loss at Carolina in which they went nearly 20 minutes stretching from the second period into the third without a five-on-five shot. The Panthers lost a 3-2 shootout at Buffalo on Friday night.
The second game of back-to-back sets was one of the Islanders' strengths last season as they went 11-1-1 in those games. It's essentially the same group of players, even if the early results have been different.
"I think it's fresh," Trotz said before Saturday's puck drop. "We have a pretty veteran group from that standpoint. We've just got to play. There's some good things we did (Friday) night, not enough, obviously. The group wants to get going and we're just not feeling it quite yet. We've just got to stay with it."
As was the case in their 4-1 win over the visiting Jets this past Sunday, the Islanders started playing much better in the second period against the Panthers as they scored twice.
Lee tied the game with a one-timer from the left circle at 5:40 on a play set up by Barzal, who controlled the puck behind the Panthers' crease and waited patiently for a shooter to get free.
Josh Bailey made it 2-1 at 17:31 off a three-on-two rush that started with defenseman Adam Pelech stepping up to intercept a pass in the neutral zone for the second time in that shift.
Varlamov's game also grew stronger and he made five of his nine second-period saves in a two-minute stretch ending with two stops on defenseman Aaron Ekblad at 12:25. The sequence started with Varlamov twice denying Noel Acciari from close range, including holding his ground with his left pad at the post at 10:45.
The Islanders allowed the first goal for the second straight night and for the third time in five games when Denis Malgin connected on a one-timer from the right circle at 5:34 of the first period. It was the Panthers' second shot.
