Provorov Nets OT Winner to Force Game 7

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

It will go the distance. It took every minute, every player – including one who provided a lot of inspiration – and a lot of extra time. The Flyers and Islanders played into the second overtime and the shots piled up for the Islanders.

Finally, at 15:03 of the second overtime, Ivan Provorov scored the goal that forced a deciding Game 7, giving the Flyers a 5-4 double-overtime win over the Islanders in Game 6.

The Islanders opened up the game with the first four shots and held the Flyers without a shot for over eight minutes. But the Flyers got some chances as a result of some miscues by the Islanders and made sure to take advantage.

Robert Hagg came up with a steal in the neutral zone and got the puck to Kevin Hayes. Hayes then dished to Travis Konecny, who got it back to Hayes in the slot with room and he picked his spot, going top shelf over Semyon Varlamov to get the Flyers on the board at 10:16

Just 1:26 later, the Flyers struck again. After Travis Sanheim helped break up a rush for the Islanders, he moved the puck ahead to Jake Voracek, who led James van Riemsdyk with a pass with some space in front of him. van Riemsdyk entered the zone and fired a slap shot that beat Varlamov to give the Flyers a 2-0 lead.

With under six minutes to go in the period, the Islanders went on the power play for the second time in the period. Just as the power play expired, Devon Toews put a chance on goal that was tipped by Derick Brassard and beat Carter Hart and cut the lead to one at 16:33.

Through 20 minutes, shots were 10-5 Islanders.

Early in the second, the Islanders showed they weren't going quietly. After a blocked shot, the Islanders got an odd-man rush and capitalized as Matt Martin scored through the five-hole of Hart as Casey Cizikas was crashing into him. The Flyers challenged the goal, but the call stood and the Islanders got a power play as a result.

They made sure they took advantage of that opportunity as well. With under 30 seconds to go on the power play, Anders Lee scored on a rebound after a Mathew Barzal shot to give the Islanders a 3-2 lead just 3:06 into the period.

The Flyers did get back into the game with a great shift from their fourth line. Nicolas Aube-Kubel circled the zone and took a shot that left a rebound. Michael Raffl was there to knock it home to make it 3-3 with 6:39 left in the period.

But in the final minute, the Flyers were burned again by a turnover. Sanheim had his pocket picked behind the net by Brassard and he set up Barzal for a goal on a rising shot over Hart to make it 4-3 with 30 seconds left in the period.

The Islanders had chances to put the game away, getting a power play just under eight minutes into the third. But it was the Flyers who would take advantage of a miscue by the Islanders again and tie the game.

Shortly after the penalty expired, a turnover at the Flyer blue line led to a breakaway for Scott Laughton, who put a move on Varlamov and beat him to tie the game at four at 9:53.

With 2:42 left in the third, the Flyers were back on the penalty kill and relied on their young netminder to get this game to overtime. Hart made three saves on the penalty kill in the final two minutes of the third, setting the stage for the third overtime game of the series.

Both goalies had to come up with big saves in overtime, notably a couple by Hart with Lee on the doorstep. The Flyers had two power-play opportunities, but failed to take advantage, taking a penalty on the second one in the final two minutes of overtime. Time ran out on the period and the game headed to double overtime. Shots in the first overtime were 9-6 Islanders.

The Flyers had more shots in the second overtime, but the Islanders were starting to generate more possession time. Just as the game entered the final five minutes of the second overtime, the Flyers got a break.

A broken stick for Scott Mayfield allowed the Flyers to move up on a rush. Hayes took control and cruised into the zone, drawing the attention of four defenders. He swung a pass through the slot and out to Provorov, who fired a wrist shot bar down to give the Flyers the win.

Hart finished the game with 49 saves on 53 shots. Varlamov made 26 saves on 31 shots.

Hayes and Provorov each finished with two points. Brassard and Barzal each had two points for the Islanders.

In addition, Oskar Lindblom made his return from Ewing's sarcoma, playing for the first time since Dec. 7. Lindblom played 17:30 in his first game back and did not record a point.

That sets the stage for Game 7 on Saturday night. Game time is 7:30 p.m.

Box Score

Scoring Summary

1st Period

• PHI Kevin Hayes (4) (Travis Konecny, Robert Hagg) 10:16
• PHI James van Riemsdyk (2) (Jake Voracek, Travis Sanheim) 11:52
• NYI Derick Brassard (2) (Devon Toews, Brock Nelson) 16:33

2nd Period

• NYI Matt Martin (4) (Cal Clutterbuck) 1:24
• NYI Anders Lee (7) PP (Mathew Barzal, Jordan Eberle) 3:06
• PHI Michael Raffl (4) (Nicolas Aube-Kubel, Ivan Provorov) 13:21
• NYI Barzal (5) (Brassard) 19:30

3rd Period

• PHI Scott Laughton (5) (Claude Giroux) 9:53

Overtime

• No Scoring

2nd Overtime

• PHI Provorov (3) (Hayes) 15:03

Game Statistics