DiPietro returns with shootout victory

SUNRISE, Fla. -- So much for easing back in.

In his first game back after missing six weeks with facial fractures suffered in a fight with Penguins goaltender Brent Johnson, Rick DiPietro stopped both shots he faced in the shootout to help the Islanders to a 4-3 win over the Panthers Saturday night at BankAtlantic Center.

DiPietro stopped shootout attempts by Mike Santorelli and Sergei Samsonov. On the other end, Frans Nielsen went five-hole to score on Scott Clemmensen and PA Parenteau won it with a shot that beat Clemmensen high to the glove side.

"I'll take a win any way I can get it," DiPietro said. "I would rather have not let in that third goal, but a little extra work never hurt anybody."

In the last minute of overtime, DiPietro came up clutch against David Booth on a breakaway and a resulting penalty shot after defenseman Andrew MacDonald's hook on the play.

"Ricky made a huge save for us there," coach Jack Capuano said. "I really liked Rick's compete level tonight."

Up 3-2 in the third, the Islanders let an opponent tie it to force overtime for the third time in four games. Unlike the decisions dropped against the Devils the previous Saturday and against Carolina one night earlier, the Islanders were able to pull this one out.

"It was big. Everyone likes Rick in this locker room, and we wanted to get one for him tonight," said Parenteau, who tied it at 2 in the third period.

Fourth-line bruiser Micheal Haley went end-to-end to score his second career NHL goal after beating Panthers defenseman Joe Callahan, giving the Islanders a 3-2 lead at 9:50 of the third period. But Stephen Weiss tied it at 3 with his one-timer from the left circle.

Russian winger Evgeni Dadonov tallied twice in the second period for the Panthers.

After the game, DiPietro feigned surprise that he fared well in the shootout, given his recent practice history. "If you had seen me in practice against breakaways the past couple of days,'' he said, "you'd know it was a soft spot for me."

It was a big night for rookie Michael Grabner, who scored his 30th goal of the season. After a pretty tape-to-tape pass from Nielsen, Grabner scored on a shorthanded rush at 5:14 to become the second Islander to reach the milestone. Matt Moulson posted his second 30-goal season with a marker against the Rangers on Tuesday.

"It's nice not to worry about it too much. Hopefully, now I can relax a little," Grabner said. "It was a great pass from [Nielsen]. He's a playmaker. It's easy to play with him."

It's the first time the Islanders have had two 30-goal scorers since the 2001-02 season, when Alexei Yashin (32) and Mark Parrish (30) did it.

Even sweeter was the fact that Grabner accomplished the feat against the very team that waived him in October.

"Yeah, sure. Nice to get it here, obviously,'' he said. "But at the same time, I'm just trying to help the team and it doesn't matter who I score the goals against."

He added, "We battled back and we got the win. That's all that matters."

Notes & quotes:To shield his face from further injury, DiPietro debuted a new mask -- albeit a retro-looking one. He wore former Islander Chris Osgood's cat-eye cage with custom throat protector . . . Blake Comeau received his first career fighting major after his third-period scrap with Dmitry Kulikov.