Philadelphia Flyers: Andy Greene, Semyon Varlamov lead Islanders to victory

Andy Greene was the unlikely hero while Semyon Varlamov shutout the Flyers for the opening victory.

The Flyers came in with a few minor changes  to their lineup. Matt Niskanen checked back in after his brief suspension. Nicolas Aube-Kubel returned after missing the last few games with an undisclosed injury.

That forced James van Riemsdyk out of the lineup once again. And lastly, Shayne Gostisbehere remained in the lineup after filling in last game.

It didn’t matter who the Flyers had out there, though, as the Islanders had all of the pressure for most of the opening period. They would get on the board first via a goal by Andy Greene. Greene waited at the point for traffic to develop in front and blasted it in.

It was his first goal of the postseason and first since 2010. Coincidentally enough, that goal was also against the Flyers when Greene played for the Devils. He also became the second oldest player in franchise history to score a playoff goal.

Philadelphia did have a good chance to even things up about a minute later. Travis Konecny made a good pass out of his own zone to set up Kevin Hayes on a breakaway. Hayes tried to do a couple of forehand, backhand moves on Semyon Varlamov. Unfortunately he lost the puck at the end.

The Islanders continued to lay the pressure on the Flyers, ending the period with a 15-4 shot advantage. It was Carter Hart that kept Philadelphia in the game.

It was as if a completely different team came out for the second period. It was the Flyers turn to dominate play as they ended up with the first nine shots of the period. The Islanders didn’t get a shot on goal until almost halfway through the period.

It was Varlamov who continued to shut down anything Philadelphia threw his way. Even with the extended zone time they had throughout. Niskanen was part of some of that zone time. He made a few key pinches and keep-ins at the line.

It was a much better look for him after some struggles during the first round. Even with a 15-7 edge in shots, the Flyers trailed entering the third. And exactly what happened in the third is what Philadelphia didn’t want to happen.

Jean-Gabriel Pageau increased the Islanders lead just under three minutes into the third. The Flyers turned it over in the neutral zone, allowing the Isles to bring it in. Leo Komarov, from behind the net, found Pageau all alone in front.

Anders Lee then put New York up by three goals a few minutes later. The Islanders came up on a 3-on-2. Mathew Barzal gave it to Jordan Eberle, who gave it right back. Barzal made the cross-ice pass to Lee. Lee was able to direct the puck in past Hart.

Alain Vigneault gambled as his team was facing a 3-0 deficit in the latter stages of the third. He pulled Hart with about eight minutes and it backfired almost immediately.

Devon Toews got credit for the empty netter. The puck was rimmed around the boards in the Flyers zone and ended up taking the perfect bounce to carry into the empty net.

And that was all she wrote as Varlamov posted his second consecutive postseason shutout. A slow start by Philadelphia ended up doing them in as Greene’s goal turned out to be the only one they needed.

The two will meet for the first of back to back games on Wednesday where the Flyers will look to even up the series.