By Rob Riches, Sports Talk Philly contributor
As the Flyers entered the third period down one goal against the New York Islanders, it looked like their dreadful stretch would continue. Though they peppered Thomas Greiss with 34 shots by that point and Wayne Simmonds found the net, they weren't getting a lot of the right bounces.
Ivan Provorov, however, decided early in the third stanza that the Flyers would not go down easy, netting a goal while joining the rush just 1:47 into the period. With time expiring and overtime on the horizon — the Flyers' second-straight overtime contest at Barclays Center — Claude Giroux sealed the 3-2 win with 100 seconds left.
Giroux's goal snapped a pair of significant droughts for him, to boot. He ended a 12-game drought, having not found the back of the net in 32 calendar days. He was certainly due-for, and what better time to light the lamp than in overtime against a divisional foe?
Nick Leddy opened the scoring for the Isles, taking advantage of a broken play in front of the Flyers' net in the first period on the team's fourth shot of the game. Alan Quine followed early in the second, and Greiss was standing on his head from there.
With 5:50 left in the period, though, Wayne Simmonds grabbed a loose puck in the slot and roofed it over Greiss' shoulder to cut the Islanders' lead in half. The Orange and Black had finally cracked Greiss, and were poised to take control from there.
Steve Mason turned in a wondrous, confidence-boosting performance for the Flyers, stopping 36 of 38 shots — including a brilliant save on a John Tavares breakaway in overtime that helped lead to the Giroux goal. Greiss posted a 44-save effort.
The Flyers' win snaps a three-game losing skid, and is their first two-point effort since Jan. 12 against Vancouver. They return to the ice Wednesday night, taking on the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.
