Hayes Gets OT Winner as Flyers Sweep Islanders

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

It's been uncanny how the Flyers have found a way to win every single time they have gone to overtime against the Islanders in recent memory. One night after Scott Laughton played hero, it was Kevin Hayes getting the winning tally.

Hayes scored on the power play with 38 seconds remaining in overtime to give the Flyers a 4-3 win over the Islanders, their fourth straight win, on Sunday night at Wells Fargo Center.

From the start, the Islanders played their usual game, getting pucks deep and winning battles in the offensive zone to generate more pressure. Both teams failed to take advantage of power-play time.

The Islanders had an early power play that could have set the tone. The Flyers had a 5-on-3 for 1:17 midway through the period and got their first quality scoring chance of the game with Jake Voracek getting robbed by Ilya Sorokin at the side of the net. But the Flyers weren't able to do much with the power-play time after that and failed to register another shot. The Islanders had another power play shortly after and failed to score again, with Hayes actually hitting the post on a shorthanded breakaway in the final seconds.

With 1:18 remaining in the period, the Flyers managed to get on the board first. A clearing attempt was tipped back into the slot by James van Riemsdyk, and Joel Farabee was there waiting to fire a turnaround shot that went high over Sorokin to give the Flyers the 1-0 lead.

Through 20 minutes, shots were 13-6 Islanders.

The parade to the penalty box continued early in the period, and the Islanders finally made the Flyers pay for their lack of discipline. Nick Leddy fired a shot from the point that hit the post and went in off the back of Brian Elliott to tie the game just 38 seconds into the period.

It took the Flyers less than two minutes to answer back. Once again, van Riemsdyk set up Farabee in the slot to put the Flyers right back in front, 2-1, at 2:19.

As the period progressed, the Flyers continued to generate more offensive pressure and keep the Islanders back on their heels. With just over four minutes left in the second, they capitalized once again on a hard-working shift.

Phil Myers got the puck back at the blue line with some space and fired a shot that hit the shin pad of Farabee and went in to complete the hat trick, putting the Flyers ahead by two with 4:08 to play.

Through two periods, the Flyers trailed in shots, 22-18, but closed the gap with a 12-9 advantage in the second period.

Right away in the third, the Islanders started on the comeback trail. It took just 1:03 for the Islanders to cut the lead to one, as Ryan Pulock's shot was deflected by Josh Bailey to make it 3-2.

At 6:27, a breakdown led to the equalizer. Robert Hagg took a shot that went well wide and rolled along the boards, past a pinching Justin Braun to center. Anders Lee won the race to the puck as Braun scrambled back, but a poor backcheck by the forwards allowed Mathew Barzal to speed in alone and be right in front for the one-timer to tie things up at three.

The Flyers essentially survived the rest of regulation again. While they got some chances that were answered by Sorokin, the Flyers had to kill off a late power play for the Islanders and some anxious moments late to force overtime.

In the extra session, the Flyers once again got the better of the chances at 3-on-3, but nearly allowed the Islanders to steal away the second point after the power play began. Elliott came up big on a scoring chance from the slot to keep the Flyers in the game. Once they were back the other way, the Flyers executed a perfect passing play, with Claude Giroux feeding Hayes for the goal to give the Flyers the win.

Elliott finished the game with 33 saves on 36 shots. Sorokin stopped 25 of 29 shots in the loss.

In addition to Farabee's hat trick, van Riemsdyk had assists on all four goals. Bailey and Barzal each had a goal and an assist for the Islanders.

The Flyers get back on the ice on Wednesday night when they host the Boston Bruins at 8 p.m.

Box Score

Scoring Summary

1st Period

• PHI Joel Farabee (3) (James van Riemsdyk) 18:42

2nd Period

• NYI Nick Leddy (1) PP (Josh Bailey, Jean-Gabriel Pageau) 0:38
• PHI Farabee (4) (van Riemsdyk, Travis Sanheim) 2:19
• PHI Farabee (5) (Phil Myers, van Riemsdyk) 15:52

3rd Period

• NYI Bailey (1) (Ryan Pulock, Mathew Barzal) 1:03
• NYI Barzal (4) (Anders Lee) 6:27

Overtime

• PHI Kevin Hayes (5) PP (Claude Giroux, van Riemsdyk) 4:22

Game Statistics