Flyers Blow 3-Goal Lead in 3rd, Lose to Islanders in Shootout

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

Through two periods, the Flyers had the Islanders and their 13-game points streak on the ropes. Despite being outshot, 22-18, the Flyers had a 3-0 lead with 20 minutes to play.

Then, the Islanders took over and slowly but surely got back into the game. They got on the board before the 10-minute mark. They capitalized on an ill-timed bench minor for the Flyers. They struck just before they would have pulled the goalie in the final three minutes.

That kept the points streak alive, and the Islanders finished the comeback, beating the Flyers in a shootout, 4-3, on Saturday night at Wells Fargo Center.

It didn't take the Flyers long to strike for an early goal. Oskar Lindblom set up Sean Couturier for a shot from the high slot that beat Thomas Greiss just 1:38 into the game.

The Islanders dominated play from there, opening up a 5-1 advantage in shots in the first eight minutes and extending the shots advantage to 8-1. That included Casey Cizikas hitting the crossbar and two scoring chances off turnovers by Brian Elliott, including one where Jordan Eberle missed a wide open net.

The Flyers took control from there, outshooting the Islanders, 13-1, for the remainder of the period. 

Late in the period, the Flyers went to their second power play and added a late goal. Ivan Provorov fired a one-timer from the point that beat a screened Greiss to make it 2-0 with just 23.1 seconds remaining.

The Islanders regained command of the play to start the second, getting an early power play. With some help from Elliott, the Flyers were able to maintain the 2-0 lead past the midpoint of regulation.

At 12:20, they padded the lead on just their second shot of the period. Lindblom got the payoff with his ninth goal of the season, firing a shot from the left circle to make it 3-0.

The Islanders got another power play shortly after the Flyers goal and continued to apply pressure. Shots in the second period favored the Islanders, 13-4, but the Flyers carried a 3-0 lead to the third period.

Early in the third, the Flyers had a power play to try to put the game even further out of reach, but failed to score. The Islanders finally took advantage of a scoring chance just before the period hit the eight-minute mark.

At 7:46, the Islanders caught the Flyers in a line change, allowing Anthony Beauvillier to go in alone on Elliott. He was able to get a shot to squeeze through to get the Islanders on the board.

The Islanders cut the lead down to one on a power play with 6:26 to play. Mathew Barzal finally solved Elliott with a quick release from in front for his ninth goal of the season. 

The Islanders continued to try for the tying goal, and it finally came with 2:04 remaining. Beauvillier picked up his second goal of the night, taking a shot that bounced off the ice and skipped in on goal before getting past Elliott.

That forced an uneventful overtime and the game would go to a shootout.

The Islanders made quick work of the shootout, scoring on both attempts with Eberle and Barzal getting goals. Couturier was stopped and Claude Giroux was poke-checked by Greiss and that sealed the Flyers fate.

Greiss finished the game with 28 saves in the win. Elliott made 33 saves in the defeat.

Couturier, Lindblom and Provorov each finished with two-point games. 

The Flyers get back on the ice on Tuesday night, hitting the road to face the Florida Panthers. Game time is at 7 p.m.

Box Score

Scoring Summary

1st Period

• PHI Sean Couturier (6) (Oskar Lindblom) 1:38
• PHI Ivan Provorov (4) PP (Couturier, Matt Niskanen) 19:36

2nd Period

• PHI Oskar Lindblom (9) (Joel Farabee, Provorov) 12:20

3rd Period

• NYI Anthony Beauvillier (5) (Derick Brassard, Brock Nelson) 7:46
• NYI Mathew Barzal (9) PP (Nelson, Brassard) 13:34
• NYI Beauvillier (6) (Unassisted) 17:56

Overtime

• No Scoring

Shootout

• NYI Jordan Eberle – Goal
• PHI Sean Couturier – Save
• NYI Mathew Barzal – Goal
• PHI Claude Giroux – Miss

Game Statistics