Philadelphia Flyers Beat New York Islanders In Shootout 4-3

The Flyers provided the Islanders with an opportunity to win, as they were below them in the standings. Plus, this was the Islanders’ home game at the UBS Arena. The game between the Islanders and Flyers was a funny one, with both teams struggling on the power play. Do you think there would be any power-play goals in this game?

Flyers Beat Islanders 4-3 In Shootout

The Flyers are coming off a 4-2 comeback win over the Florida Panthers on Wednesday, rallying from a 2-0 deficit with four unanswered goals. Emil Andrae, Matvei Michkov, Tyson Foerster, and Sean Couturier scored for the Flyers, while Dan Vladar stopped 25 or 27 shots in the win. The Flyers come into the game with the Islanders on a decent roll, having won three of their last four games. Here is a scoring summary from the game.

In the first period, Tyson Foerster scored to give the Flyers a 1-0 lead. Then, Sean Couturier scored to give the Flyers a 2-0 lead. That is how the first period ended.

In the second period, Trevor Zegras scored to give the Flyers a 3-0 lead. Then the Islanders came back. Emil Heineman scored, then Matthew Schaefer scored, and Anders Lee scored on the power play. The game was tied at 3, and regulation ended.

It was good for the Islanders that they came back from a 3-0 deficit, and that Schaefer and Lee both scored. Schaefer became the first teenage defenseman in NHL history to score eight goals through his first 25 career games, breaking a tie with Bobby Orr when he scored 8:11 into the second.

There were no goals scored in the third period or overtime. The Flyers won in a shootout by scoring two goals to the Islanders’ 1, for a 4-3 victory.

News and Notes

• Coming into the game, the Islanders, with 28 points, and the Flyers, with 27 points, are separated by one point in the standings. There is plenty of gridlock in the Metropolitan Division, as five points separate first-place New Jersey (31 points) from the last-place New York Rangers (26 points). These tight divisional standings may mean that the teams in playoff positions on American Thanksgiving may not make the playoffs this season.
• The Islanders have been shooting a lot from the periphery. The Islanders had a season-high 45 shots against the Bruins on Wednesday. In fact, the Islanders have outshot opponents 110-55 over the past three games, but have only scored two goals, not including their shootout goals against the Kraken.
• Defensively, the Islanders have been stingy of late, allowing 14 shots on Wednesday.
• Zegras leads the Flyers with 21 points in 22 games. He has hurt the Islanders, too, this season.
• The Flyers’ power play has not scored in six games, going 0-for-10 over that span. So, it is reasonable to expect there will not be much of an advantage tonight when the two teams square off.
• Vladar has started four of the Flyers’ last five games, going 3-1-0 over that span. Vladar is 9-4-1 with a 2.39 GAA and a .913 SV%. Vladar’s previous career high in wins is 14 with the Calgary Flames.
• The Islanders’ vaunted prospects are doing well.

Islanders Special Teams

Lately, the Islanders’ special teams have been a bit divergent. The penalty kill is doing very well, but the power play is struggling. The penalty kill has not allowed a goal in six games, going 10-for-10 over that span, and has killed 38 of its last 41 opportunities.

The power play is currently in a 0-for-23 stretch over the past seven games and is 5-for-57 over the past 18 games. While Head Coach Patrick Roy felt the Islanders’ power play was not sharp, going 0-for-4 against Boston. He cited the Isles being “too cute” on their entries. He is not seeing good signs from the man advantage. Roy said the Islanders need to get better shots on net, and the hope is that an ugly goal boosts the confidence and gets the power play on a roll.

Conclusion 

Despite the Islanders losing this game 4-3 in a shootout to the Flyers, it was good for the Islanders that Schaefer and Lee scored. The youngster’s scoring made him the first teenager since Bobby Orr to score 8 goals in his first 25 games. Lee’s goal was good because it was the Islanders’ first power play goal in 30 tries. The Islanders and Flyers are now tied. The Islanders host the Capitals on Sunday.