Philadelphia Flyers: Brock Nelson, Thomas Greiss lead Islanders to victory

On the backs of Brock Nelson and Thomas Greiss, the Islanders have the Flyers on the brink of elimination.

The game details don’t matter in this one. Okay, they actually do but nothing was bigger then the moment that took place before the game started. Oskar Lindblom dressed and skated with his Flyers teammates during warmups.

While he would not end up playing, it was a huge moment for Lindblom and his teammates. He could be an option moving forward. That is if the Flyers can get past the Islanders.

There was a big change to each team’s lineup. Brian Elliott and Thomas Greiss led the two teams out for warmups.

The Flyers did have another solid start, same as they did in Game Three. They were hard on the forecheck and forced turnovers. Especially in the offensive zone. Greiss was forced to make a couple of tough saves.

The Islanders didn’t get their first shot of the game until about five minutes into the period. From there, they put on the pressure. They forced Travis Konecny to take a slashing penalty after some extended pressure in the zone.

And the reason the Islanders didn’t score on the power play? That would be thanks to Elliott. He had to make a couple of big play to keep the Isles off the board. They took almost complete control of the game at that point.

But it was a scoreless game heading into the second period.

The Islanders broke the scoreless tie in the second period. Philippe Myers turned the puck over in their zone. Josh’s Bailey cut the puck off right at the line. Brock Nelson was left all alone in front as the Flyers’ forwards expected the puck to be gone. Nelson had the point blank chance on Elliott.

There was nothing Elliott could do o’ that opportunity other than make an outstanding save. He had done his part up until that point. It was his offense and defense that needed to step up. How many times have we said that this postseason?

The Flyers did tie it up with under five minutes to go. A Justin Braun shot from the point was deflected in off the stick of Sean Couturier. It came after back to back strong shifts from the top two lines.

That goal clearly gave the Flyers a boost of confidence as they spent a large amount of time getting pressure in on Greiss. They almost took the lead with eight seconds remaining in the period.

James van Riemsdyk took the original shot as Greiss gave up a rebound. Jakub Voracek came in for the shot attempt but Greiss was able to get the pad on it. Voracek was unable to elevate it.

The Flyers had a massive 17-3 shot advantage in that period. They needed to take that energy and continue with it in the third. And they did start off the same way in the third, but the Islanders re-found their game as well.

Greiss did his part once again to stop key Flyers chances. The top line for Philadelphia was flying, especially in the third. All three players have chances. But it was the Islanders who took the lead.

Jean-Gabriel Pageau found himself on a breakaway seven minutes in and was able to beat Elliott through the five-hole. The Flyers goaltender got most of the puck but it just slid through his pads and into the back of the net.

After Greiss stopped Joel Farabee and Travis Konecny, the Islanders took the puck up the zone in a hurry. Anthony Beauvillier kicked the puck up to Bailey. On a 2-on-1, Bailey found Nelson for his second of the game. Elliott once again had no chance.

Down by two, Elliott was sent to the bench for the extra attacker with 2:30 to go. And they cashed in. With bodies in front, Ivan Provorov blasted one to cut the lead to just one with just over a minute to go. Kevin Hayes had great patience before that to hold onto the puck.

With a now one-goal deficit, the Flyers called their timeout. They once again brought Elliott to the bench shortly after the ensuing faceoff. They couldn’t pull off the miracle as the Islanders tied them up against the boards in the final 15 seconds.

The Flyers will have to win three in a row to move on to the Eastern Conference Final. Their first game to stave off elimination will be on Tuesday night.