Standout Players In Philadelphia Flyers Preseason Loss To Islanders

These Philadelphia Flyers players stood out the most during their first preseason game of the 2019-20 season.

The Philadelphia Flyers kicked off their six-game 2019-20 preseason campaign hosting a Metropolitan Division adversary in the New York Islanders but didn’t get the result they were quite looking for. After tying the game in the second period, the Orange and Black fell to the Isles by a score of 3-1, starting the exhibition season with an 0-1 record.

Thankfully for the Flyers, records don’t matter at this point in time as the preseason is more about seeing what you have in terms of young talents and getting veterans back into the swing of an NHL season. Philadelphia had players stand out on both ends of the spectrum, beginning with the more experienced skaters.

The Flyers top line and defensive pairing during the game looked outstanding for most of the 60-minute contest. James van Riemsdyk, Kevin Hayes, Jakub Voracek, Shayne Gostisbehere, and Justin Braun all had admirable performances in the losing effort. JvR netted the Flyers lone goal after hayes and Voracek made a tic-tac-toe play to give him the chance to score. Hayes did a great job of protecting the puck from an Isles defender, eventually finding Jake across the zone, who then found van Riemsdyk in front of the net for the tally. It took the three a bit of time to gell but dominated the second stanza once they did.

Gostisbehere was aggressive and active early on, making a nice move to get the puck into the offensive zone and nearly springing German Rubtsov for a great scoring chance. The 26-year-old blue-liner led all defenseman on the team in Scoring Chances For percentage with 66.67% for the game and looked more comfortable making plays than he did for a majority of last year.

His partner Braun shined defensively, consistently breaking up opposing chances while on the ice. In a specific instance, the veteran defenseman nearly got beat on a play, but just got his stick on the puck and ended up being able to make a pass out of the d zone. Braun and Hayes made their mark on the PK, too, aiding the Flyers in killing off a 5-on-3 disadvantage in the middle stanza. Alain Vigneault stated after the game that these are the type of performances to expect from Braun throughout the season, having high praise for the former San Jose Shark.

As far as prospects are concerned, Philippe Myers, Egor Zamula, and Rubtsov were ones who caught my eye. Myers puck skills were on full display, as he made a nice stutter-step move to create a wrap around chance. He carried the puck through the neutral zone on multiple occasions, as well, showcasing his ability to move the biscuit on his own. Zamula also flashed his offensive capabilities, making an impressive deke to move passed an Islander defender, but just missed the net on the following shot. Both undrafted defensemen looked comfortable on a pair together, playing off of each other very well in both zones.

While Rubtsov didn’t get on the scoresheet, the 2016 first-rounder did a lot of little things right. He, along with Maxim Sushko and Oskar Lindblom, was extremely active on the forecheck, pressuring New York defensemen on every opportunity he received. I thought he performed well on the penalty-kill, too, helping the Flyers kill off all five Islander power-plays.

The Flyers will have the chance to avenge this loss to the Islanders, as they’ll take on the club in New York this evening.