Nathan Horton scores three times in Panthers’ 7-1 win over Islanders

Horton has three goals in Panthers’ 7-1 win

UNIONDALE, N.Y. — Nathan Horton scored three times for his second career hat trick and the Florida Panthers routed the New York Islanders 7-1 on Monday night.

Michal Repik, Stephen Weiss, Kamil Kreps and Radek Dvorak added goals as the Panthers

(13-14-7) won for just the third time in 13 games.

Jesse Joensuu scored his first goal of the season for the Islanders (12-14-7), which lost for the fourth time in the past five games.

Thomas Vokoun extended his mastery over the Islanders, improving to 11-4-0 in 15 starts after making 30 saves. The 33-year-old netminder entered with a 2.10 goals against average and .929 save percentage against New York.

Florida scored twice off breakaways and three times off turnovers against Dwayne Roloson as the Panthers ended a four-game road trip 2-2. Despite the poor won-loss record, Florida has picked up points in eight of its last 13 contests.

Horton scored twice in the second and added Florida’s last goal for his first hat trick since Dec. 13, 2005, against Nashville.

The Panthers made it a blowout with two goals in the third period’s first 55 seconds. Weiss capitalized on rookie John Tavares’ mishandle of a neutral zone puck and scored just 15 seconds into the final period.

Kreps’ first goal of the season 35 seconds later forced Roloson to the bench in favor of Martin Biron. Dvorak and Horton each scored against Biron for the final margin.

Repik energized Florida after a lackluster start with his breakaway goal 14:28 in. The rookie winger chipped the puck away from defenseman Bruno Gervais in the neutral zone and raced in alone before completing a forehand-to-backhand move, lifting a shot over a sprawling Roloson for his second goal.

New York allowed the opening goal for the fifth time in the last six games.

Horton picked up his first goal in seven games thanks to a fortuitous bounce when his centering pass hit defenseman Jack Hillen’s skate in front of the crease and slid into the back of the net for a short-lived 2-0 edge.

Joensuu answered back for New York just 1:24 later, slamming home a close-range shot in front for his first goal in two games since being recalled from the American Hockey League.

But Horton reestablished the Panthers’ two-goal lead with a breakaway short-handed goal at the 12:40 mark. Florida entered with the league’s worst road power-play unit but scored down a man when Horton stole the puck from Mark Streit and beat Roloson high on a hard wrist shot.

Horton, who tallied at least 22 goals for Florida the past four seasons, netted his first multigoal game since Jan. 3 last season against Pittsburgh.

The Islanders offense continued to sputter and coach Scott Gordon’s team has registered just eight goals in five games.

NOTES: Florida center Dominic Moore was back in the lineup after missing the previous game with an upper body injury. Horton and Weiss each extended their team-high points streak to three games. Islanders goalie Rick DiPietro will miss his rehab start for AHL Bridgeport Tuesday. DiPietro experienced leg tightness during a minor league conditioning stint against Springfield Friday. Defenseman Andy Sutton returned to action for the first time since straining his groin Nov. 27. Josh Bailey has not had a shot on goal in 23 straight periods. The second-year forward played in his 100th career game.