The Philadelphia Flyers Were Bested By the New York Islanders 4-3 In Preseason Game
The Flyers are likely to finish below the Islanders in the standings this season. In the final game of the preseason for the Islanders, they played a lineup of mostly National Hockey League (NHL) players. Missing in this game against the Flyers was Bo Horvat.
He probably did enough this preseason, and the Islanders did not want him to get injured. In this game against the Flyers, the Islanders scored a power play goal and a short-handed goal, but they also gave up a short-handed goal and a power play goal. Do you think the Islanders’ special teams will be better this season?
Flyers Fall To Islanders 4-3 In Final Preseason Game
In this, the final preseason game of the year for the Islanders, they managed a 4-3 win against the Flyers. This game took place in Philadelphia. There were some good developments in this win for the Islanders. They finished the preseason 2-2-2. Though preseason games do not matter that much, expect the Islanders to be about .500 this regular season, like they were in the preseason.
Here is the scoring summary of the 4-3 win. In the first period, Travis Sanheim scored a shorthanded goal for the Flyers. This was yet another preseason special-teams goal allowed by the Islanders. The Flyers led 1-0.Â
In the second period, there were five goals scored, and the period ended with the two teams tied at 3. First, Maxim Shabanov scored a power-play goal for the Islanders. Then, Travis Konecny scored for the Flyers, who retook the lead, 2-1.
Then, Anders Lee scored for the Islanders. Then at 17:12, Adam Pelech scored shorthanded for the Islanders, who took a 3-2 lead. The Flyers tied the game at 3 when Noah Cates scored a power-play goal. In the third period, Emi Heineman scored for the Islanders to give them a 4-3 win over the Flyers.
Andres Lee
Lee scored in the second period of this game. This was doubly good. First, Lee suffered an injury about a week ago. It was good that he played and also that he scored. Second, Lee had 29 goals last year for the Islanders, surpassing expectations. Lee is 35 years old now and makes $7 million a year. He does not produce at that salary range, but maybe this year he will. One thing is for certain: the Islanders need offense. Hopefully, Lee will provide some.
Maxim Shabonov
Shabonov scored for the Islanders against the Flyers. The goal came on a tip-in on the power play at the start of the second period. He is a huge wild card for the Islanders this year. He signed a one-year deal for near the NHL minimum in the offseason from the KHL (Russia), where the 24-year-old was a big-time scorer.
He could score 30 goals for the Islanders this year, or the diminutive Shabonov (he is only 5 feet 8 and 157 pounds) could be overwhelmed by the large size of NHL players. Like Lee, an offensive contribution from Shabonov would be welcome. So, it was good that he scored in this game. He had no points in the 3 previous preseason games.
Ilya Sorokin
Islanders fans should be a little worried about Goaltender Ilya Sorokin. Sorokin is supposed to be one of the best players in the National Hockey League. In fact, Locked on Sports just named him the 33rd best player in the league. In this game, Sorokin made 18 saves on 21 shots for a .857 save percentage. This is following up a less-than-stellar outing two games ago in he preseason. It was a good thing to get him work in the final preseason game, but he must play better than this if the Islanders are going to reach their stated goal of making the playoffs.Â
Conclusion
The Islanders won this game against the Flyers 4-3 on a third-period goal from Emile Heineman. He has played great this preseason and will make a welcome addition to the Islanders’ fourth line. The Islanders finished the preseason 2-2-2. The regular season starts for them on Thursday, October 9. They will be in Pittsburgh.
