Sorokin, Islanders Stand Tall, Hand Flyers 8th Straight Loss

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

There really just seems to be no end in sight for the Flyers. Much like their 10-game losing streak just over a month ago, things continue to be in a free-fall. 

That was the case again on Monday night. The Flyers had two power plays in the first period and couldn't generate more than one shot on goal. The Islanders weren't cashing in either, but eventually took advantage of a few of their opportunities, getting a 4-1 victory to hand the Flyers their eighth straight loss.

The first period was mostly uneventful. The Flyers had a pair of power plays, but failed to generate much. Through 20 minutes, the Islanders led in shots, 12-8.

The second period followed a similar path. The two teams continued to struggle to get on the board. In this period, it was more the performance of the goaltenders, as both Ilya Sorokin and Martin Jones made several big saves.

Finally, at 11:44, the Islanders broke the ice. Off a rush, Brock Nelson beat Jones high to make it a 1-0 game with his 11th goal of the season.

Less than three minutes later, the Islanders had a second goal, as Casey Cizikas tipped the long point shot from Robin Salo in to make it a 2-0 game with 5:32 to play in the period.

But with just 2:48 to play in the second, a fortunate bounce got the Flyers back in the game. Travis Konecny centered and had the puck deflect into the net, snapping a 20-game goalless drought and reaching the 100-goal mark for his career. 

Through two periods, the Flyers had a 21-20 lead in shots.

In the third, the Islanders restored the two-goal lead on a delayed penalty call. As Oliver Wahlstrom drove the net, he was impeded, but the puck sat for Anthony Beauvillier to put it home, making it a 3-1 game at 4:44.

The Islanders eventually iced the game late with an empty-net goal from Matt Martin.

Sorokin finished with 26 saves in the win. Jones made 27 saves on 30 shots in the loss.

Nelson finished with a goal and an assist. Cal Clutterbuck had two assists.

The Flyers and Islanders meet again for the second-half of the home-and-home on Tuesday night at 7 p.m.

Box Score

Scoring Summary

1st Period

• No Scoring

2nd Period

• NYI Brock Nelson (11) (Josh Bailey, Andy Greene) 11:44
• NYI Casey Cizikas (1) (Robin Salo, Cal Clutterbuck) 14:28
• PHI Travis Konecny (6) (Travis Sanheim, Scott Laughton) 17:12

3rd Period

• NYI Anthony Beauvillier (6) (Oliver Wahlstrom, Nelson) 4:44
• NYI Matt Martin (1) EN (Clutterbuck, Adam Pelech) 18:37

Game Statistics