Flyers Get Early Lead, Down Islanders

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

The odds were stacked against the Flyers already, down a forward in their third game in four days. Facing a team that has consistently been among the top two in the Metropolitan Division in the New York Islanders was another tough task.

The Flyers were up to it again.

Two goals in the first and two more in the second paced the Flyers to a 4-1 win over the Islanders on Sunday afternoon.

The Islanders came out with the first six shots of the game and the better of the play early. The Flyers, who were already without forward Jake Voracek with a lower-body injury, lost another forward just moments into the game.

Nolan Patrick took a shot off the side of his head and left the game for repairs. He was updated as questionable to return during the second period, but did not return to the game.

With 10 forwards left in the lineup, the Flyers still managed to be opportunistic. First, Travis Konecny capitalized off a rush with a great individual effort to get the Flyers on the board first just over eight minutes into the game.

With 5:01 to play in the first, Travis Sanheim picked up his own rebound and scored to make it 2-0.

After 20 minutes, the Islanders had an 11-10 advantage in shots.

The Islanders controlled most of the play in the second period, outshooting the Flyers, 13-11, but the Flyers picked up the only two goals.

Scott Laughton won a puck battle in the corner and got the puck back from Michael Raffl as he cut in front. Laughton's first chance was stopped, but he picked up his own rebound and scored to make it 3-0.

That goal chased Robin Lehner from the net. He allowed three goals on 13 shots.

The Flyers had to withstand the push from the Islanders through the middle of the period with Brian Elliott making several big saves.

Late in the period, the Flyers added on. Claude Giroux made a nice pass to Oskar Lindblom, who turned and threw a chance toward the net. The puck hit off of an Islanders defenseman and Sean Couturier's shin pad, banking in to make it 4-0.

After two periods, the Islanders had a 24-21 lead in shots.

The Flyers limited the Islanders in the third as the final 20 minutes played out without much fanfare aside from an early fight between Konecny and Jordan Eberle. 

With 4:45 left, the Islanders finally solved Elliott off of several rebound attempts. Adam Pelech was the last one to get a chance on goal to break up the shutout bid.

Elliott finished with 29 saves in the win. Greiss finished with 12 saves on 13 shots.

Radko Gudas picked up his 100th NHL point with an assist. Giroux had two assists. 

The Flyers get back on the ice on Wednesday night when they host the Washington Capitals at 7:30 p.m.

Box Score

Scoring Summary

1st Period

• PHI Travis Konecny (21) (Radko Gudas, Robert Hagg) 8:21
• PHI Travis Sanheim (9) (Claude Giroux) 14:59

2nd Period

• PHI Scott Laughton (9) (Michael Raffl) 3:18
• PHI Sean Couturier (27) (Oskar Lindblom, Giroux) 15:14

3rd Period

• NYI Adam Pelech (4) (Andrew Ladd, Josh Bailey) 15:15

Game Statistics