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UNIONDALE, N. Mitchell Schwartz Jersey .Y. -- Scottie Upshall and the Florida Panthers have had little to celebrate this season. But four unanswered goals to secure a 5-3 win over the New York Islanders was reason enough to savour the moment. Upshall scored twice in the third period as part of the four-goal outburst as the Panthers snapped a four-game losing streak and sent the Islanders to yet another discouraging loss Sunday. Upshalls 11th of the season broke a 3-3 tie at 10:31 of the final period. The goal came on the rebound of shot by Shawn Mattias, who also scored two goals for the Panthers. Upshall tapped the loose puck past backup goaltender Anders Nilsson, who started in place of Evgeni Nabokov. He scored again at 15:26 on the power play to make it 5-3. Tim Thomas made 35 saves for the Panthers (23-31-7). "We came out determined in the third," said the 30-year-old Upshall, a first-round pick by Nashville in 2002 who almost completed a natural hat trick with two minutes left. "We needed a spark and we found it. And we played with an edge." The Islanders entered the third with a 3-1 advantage after Thomas Vanek scored twice in the first and Ryan Strome added a goal late in the second. But Floridas Marcel Goc and Matthias scored early in the third to tie the game at 3 before Upshalls late scores. Vanek opened the scoring at 6:41 with his 20th of the season and added his 21st on the power play at 7:39. The goals were his first since Jan. 25. Vanek was a major acquisition by the Islanders from Buffalo on Oct. 27 and has 17 goals in 47 games for New York. The Austrian left wing said he wants to test free agency this summer. Thus, the Islanders might try to trade him before Wednesdays deadline while they can still garner assets in return. The Islanders lost for the ninth time in 11 games. And it was the 12th time in their disappointing season in which they surrendered a two-goal lead, winning only two of those contests. "We seem to find ways to lose," said Andrew MacDonald, also a pending free agent who could be traded. "Its tough to see games slip away. When you get the lead, you should be able to hold it, most of the time. Its discouraging." MacDonald also addressed the idea he could be leaving the only NHL organization he has known. "I thought about it today, it weighs on your mind," the 27-year-old defenceman said. "You try not to let it get to you." After Matthias scored for Florida to make it 2-1 at 18:15 of the second, Strome restored the two-goal margin for the Islanders 59 seconds later with his second of the season. Gocs 11th of the season at 3:16 of the third came on a 40-foot floater from just inside the left point to make it 3-2 early in the third. Matthias scored his second of the game and ninth of the season at 4:18. The afternoon matchup was chippy from the start. Rival tough guys Krys Barch of the Panthers and the Islanders Eric Boulton squared off 2:25 into the game. Eight seconds later, a skirmish ensued between Brian Strait of the Islanders and Jonathan Huberdeau of Florida. "We didnt quit, we stayed involved," added Matthias. "We played a real gritty game and were glad to get the two points." The Islanders beat Toronto in overtime last Thursday in their first game back following the Olympic break. But they were drubbed 6-1 on Saturday by the New Jersey Devils as Jaromir Jagr scored his 700th career goal. The Islanders played without defenceman Travis Hamonic, suspended one game for instigating a fight near the end of Saturdays loss. NOTES: The Islanders activated forward Frans Nielsen before the game and sent Mike Halmo to AHL Bridgeport. Nielsen, who has 18 goals, suffered a broken hand when he was slashed against Colorado on Feb. 8. ... The Islanders (23-32-8) head out for a four-game Canadian road trip -- Winnipeg, Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver before returning home to face San Jose on March 14. ... The Panthers have played 30 one-goal games this season, with a 12-11-7 mark. ... Florida was without forwards Alex Barkov (knee) and Tomas Kopecky (upper body) while the Islanders also missed forward Matt Martin (lower body). ... Florida scratched captain Ed Jovanovski and forward Scott Gomez. Charvarius Ward Jersey . New York then missed its next six shots and scored only two points the rest of the night. The Los Angeles Clippers defence and the Knicks general ineptitude both played a role in the unsurprising finish to a meeting of two teams headed in opposite directions. Tanoh Kpassagnon Jersey .C. - Heat coach Erik Spoelstra says Danny Granger, Chris Andersen and Udonis Haslem are still not ready to play and will miss Wednesday nights game against the Charlotte Hornets.FORT WORTH, Texas -- When qualifying ended at Texas Motor Speedway, Chase Elliott hopped a fence and went on his way without a single fan bothering to stop him for an autograph or picture. Dale Earnhardt Jr. watched the 18-year-old go by largely ignored and figured those days were numbered. "I thought to myself, I know hes going to win one day or another, and then just start railing off run after run after run and become the next best thing," Earnhardt said hours later. "It aint going to be long until hes going to be swarmed with attention." Boy, Earnhardt had that pegged. Elliott used a strong move on the outside to pass Kevin Harvick for the lead Friday night and then sailed away for his first career Nationwide Series victory. The 18-year-old won in his sixth career start and is the second youngest winner in series history. Hes roughly four months older than Joey Logano, who was 18 years and 21 days when he won his first career Nationwide race in 2008. Elliott won in a Chevrolet for JR Motorsports, driving the No. 9 as a tribute to his father, 1988 Cup champion Bill Elliott. "I cant believe it, just to have the opportunity to race with these guys at JR Motorsports, just to have this opportunity is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for any racer who wants to make it to the top," Elliott said. "It just means the word for me to be here." Elliott became the fourth driver in Nationwide history to earn his first series victory at Texas, joining Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kurt Busch and Trevor Bayne. The victory continues the youth initiative in NASCAR as first-time winners have now won consecutive races for the first time since 2008. Two weeks ago, 21-year-old Kyle Larson scored his first career win at California. For his efforts? Elliott gets to return home and go to school on Monday as he continues to finish his senior year of high school. "I guess it will just be a normal Monday. Nobody likes Mondays," Elliott said. "Im sure it will be the same old deal, have a bunch of homework to do when I get back and get ready to go to Darlington." The win wowed Elliotts father, and back home in Dawsonville, Ga., the siren outside the local pool room wass blaring throughout the town to signify another local boys big victory. Trent Green Jersey. "Im about speechless," Bill Elliott said in Victory Lane. "I felt like Chase could do it. Ive watched him on Late Model team too much -- I know how good the kid really is. "To come here, to never have been to some of these places, like Las Vegas, California and now here at Texas, and come out and beat the kind of guys youve beat -- Ill tell you what, youve done a heck of a job." As a sign of how much respect Elliott already has among his peers, he was met following the win on pit road by Harvick, Larson and Kyle Busch. Then six-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson came to Victory Lane to congratulate him. "Its pretty awesome to see him succeed, I knew it was just a matter of time," said team co-owner Earnhardt Jr. "He has so much composure and ability and is years ahead of guys that age. And hes learning so much on the fly. Hes learning faster than you can teach him whats going on." Kyle Busch, a 65-time race winner in the Nationwide Series, finished second. He was third two weeks ago when Larson won, and hasnt seemed to mind these defeats. "These are the guys that are growing up and are young and being able to run hard and run strong and run with the best of them," said Busch. "Its neat to see them being successful and running with the best of them. I hate to lose, but its still cool to see the younger guys have the opportunities to win races and when they do, they seem to make it look good and win in style, so congrats to Chase." Elliott, who led four times for 38 laps, was strong Friday night and passed car owner Earnhardt Jr. for the lead at one point. But he was second behind Harvick on the final restart with 23 laps to go, and flirted several times with making a pass for the win before finally completing the move with a strong outside pass. "That was wild," said third-place finisher Larson. "Hed been trying to make it work and he must have had an extreme run that one time, got to Harvicks quarter panel and made him loose. From there on, I knew he was probably going to win the race unless we got a caution." ' ' '