NEW YORK -- The Florida Panthers got a third-period goal from light-scoring, young defenseman Alex Petrovic midway through the third period to break a 1-1 tie and pace the Panthers to a 2-1 victory and tie this best-of-seven first-round series at two wins apiece. Game 5 of the series is set for 8 p.m. ET Friday at BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida.

How it happened: Petrovic, playing in just his fourth playoff game, scored his fourth career goal when he waited at the Islander blue line until traffic converged on goalie Thomas Greiss and slid a low, hard shot home for the winner. For a second straight game, the Panthers got themselves in trouble in a game they were controlling with ill-advised penalties. After taking the lead with a power-play goal by Teddy Purcell off a nice Jaromir Jagr pass -- Jagr’s first point in the series and 200th of his career in the playoffs -- Aleksander Barkov took an offensive-zone slashing penalty. At the time, the Panthers were pressing for what would have been a two-goal lead. Instead, the Barkov penalty was exacerbated by a Dmitry Kulikov trip, and Islander captain John Tavares continued his hot hand with a laser over Roberto Luongo's left shoulder with 15.3 seconds left in the second period to tie the game. It was the fourth power-play goal of the playoffs for the Islanders, but they could not add a fifth when they were given a late power play following a Jonathan Huberdeau high-sticking penalty. The Panthers avoided what could have been a crucial injury when Huberdeau slid awkwardly into goalie Thomas Greiss. The puck also ended up in the net but was ruled no goal and Huberdeau had to be helped off the ice, favoring his left leg. The Panthers enjoyed much better puck possession than the Islanders with 46 shot attempts through two periods to just 33 for the Islanders but once again Greiss, filling in for Jaroslav Halak, was solid.

What it means: The Panthers reverted to the solid team defense that made them one of the most difficult teams to play against during the regular season. It was a marked departure after the Panthers looked sloppy in losses in Games 1 and 3, during which they gave up nine goals. The Panthers limited the Isles to a handful of quality scoring chances through the first half of the game. When things opened up a little bit in the second half of the game, Roberto Luongo was again the calming influence he was in Game 2, which was won by the Panthers 3-1. This was especially critical when the red-hot Islander power play was given an opportunity with 3:33 left in the third period. Luongo finished with 26 stops on 27 Islander shots. If the Panthers can keep their defense-first mindset, they stand a good chance of moving to the next round. The return of Vincent Trocheck would help for Game 5, which would be a huge boost to the Panther offense; he had 25 goals during the regular season.