Kevin Hayes was big as the Flyers survived a blown lead in the third to finish the game off in overtime.
The lines were tinkered with once against as James van Riemsdyk and Robert Hagg checked back into the lineup. It was the forward that came out that was more surprising. It was Scott Laughton that sat the game out for the Flyers.
Laughton has struggled since the end of round robin play. But he is an integral part of the team’s top six. His absence sends a clear message to everyone.
The Islanders did have pressure to start the game. They managed to hem the Flyers in but didn’t make anything of it in part thanks to Carter Hart. A key win in their own zone by Claude Giroux sent Philadelphia up the ice.
Travis Konecny led the rush up after Justin Braun chipped the puck up. Kevin Hayes drove up the middle of the ice. Konecny was able to stretch the ice and sent it all the way across. Hayes received the puck by the face off dot and sniped it just under the crossbar on the left side of the net. That was the Flyers first shot of the game.
While that broke the shutout streak for Semyon Varlamov, it was not before he set the franchise record for the longest streak without a goal.
Hayes wasn’t done yet. A floating puck sent up by Philippe Myers was cradled at the line by Joel Farabee. He chipped it to Hayes who did the rest. He skated in tight on Varlamov and found the smallest of space on the short side. Looked like everyone thought it was gonna be a pass.
While Hayes had the two goals, it looked like the Flyers top line was starting to put things together as well. And they did it in a big way. After Travis Sanheim got the puck to Giroux, he simply directed the puck up to Sean Couturier. Words don’t do the moves Couturier put on justice. It did end up chasing Varlamov from the net.
Thomas Greiss entered in his place, not having played a game in almost a month.
It was all Flyers since the Hayes goal. And it was exactly what they needed to happen. A 3-0 lead after the first period was just icing on the cake.
The Flyers continued to do a strong job of not allowing the Islanders to get much going. In fact, they had only three shots just before the midway mark through the period. Greiss was doing a good job to keep them in it, however.
The Islanders found a way to get some extended pressure going after the midway mark. Hart held his ground as the Flyers did their best to close for all of the shooting lanes.
The Islanders did finally answer on the power play. Mathew Barzal was able to find Anders Lee for the redirection in front. Matt Niskanen was unable to get body position on Lee to stop the chance.
Hart had to be strong on the ensuing faceoff as the Islanders added even more pressure. Their first goal of the game clearly gave them confidence to get back in the game.
The Flyers managed to survive the rest of the period. It felt like a win to get out of the second only giving up one goal. Now the biggest key was to take advantage of the forecheck and force the Islanders to give up the puck.
The Flyers were unable to cash in on their own 3-on-2, leading to a chance the other way. After the puck rebounded off the pad of Greiss, Josh Bailey came up on the give and go with Anthony Beauvillier. Beauvillier snuck between the two defenders and brought New York to within one.
It was all Islanders as they fought for the equalizer. The Flyers were holding on for dear life, dumping the puck in and forcing the Isles to bring the puck all the way up the ice. And it backfired big time.
Trying to clear the puck out of the zone, the Islanders kept it in and Jean-Gabriel Pageau was wide open in the slot. The Flyers tried to challenge for offsides, but the goal was confirmed. A big penalty kill was needed with just over two minutes left.
And they managed to do just that as this one was heading to overtime. And despite the blown lead, the Flyers had the last laugh.
The top line went to work as Giroux was strong on the puck. Couturier, behind the net, found Philippe Myers at the point. He wasted no time in blasting the puck from there. With traffic in front, it hit off an Islanders’ player in front and past Greiss.
It was a huge bounce back for the Flyers to even this series at a game apiece. They’ll have a chance go up in the series tomorrow night.