All three of the Philadelphia Flyers' wins over the New York Islanders in the 2020 Eastern Conference playoffs came in overtime. So, too, did the Flyers' back-to-back victories over the Islanders at the Wells Fargo Center.
One night after the Flyers played a solid first period only to get dominated in the second and third periods while failing to protect a 2-0 lead before rescuing a victory in overtime, the Flyers played one of their better all-around games of the season. Better, yes, but still marred by some costly breakdowns and the inability to protect a 3-1 lead they took into the third period. This forced another OT but it, too, ended well for the Flyers.
Joel Farabee recorded a hat trick for the Flyers; the first of his career after previously producing a career-best four-point performance on opening night against Pittsburgh. The goals were his 3rd, 4th and 5th of the season. James van Riemsdyk earned assists on all four Flyers goals and played a very strong, engaged all-around game. Kevin Hayes (5th goal) ended the game with an overtime tally set up by Claude Giroux during a 4-on-3 power play.
Brian Elliott was rock solid in goal for Philly in improving his record to 3-0-0 in three starts. Elliott made 33 saves on 36 shots including stopping all 13 shots he faced in the first period. For the Islanders, Ilya Sorokin took the loss (25 saves on 29 shots) but made dynamic saves in regulation on Jakub Voracek in the first period and Giroux in the third.
Nick Leddy (power play, 1st) got an early second period goal to briefly tie the score at 1-1. In the third period, a defelction goal by Josh Bailey (1st goal, 2nd point of the season) and a counterattacking goal by top-line center Mathew Barzal (4th) off a center pass by team captain Anders Lee erased Philadelphia's two-goal lead and forced overtime.
In OT, it was a Barzal high-stick on Scott Laughton with 1:20 left in sudden death that put the Flyers on the 4-on-3 that resulted in Hayes' game-winning goal.
With the victory, the Flyers have built a four-game winning streak and have a 7-2-1 record through 10 games despite playing far from their best hockey overall. The Islanders, who never led at any point in this weekend's back-to-back set, are winless in their last five games (0-3-2).
For highlights, stats and analysis of Sunday's game, click here.
The Flyers have a complete off-day on Monday. On Tuesday, they will resume practice at the Skate Zone and get ready to host the Boston Bruins on Wednesday and Friday. Last week, the Flyers lost a 5-4 shootout to the Bruins after taking a shut out into the third period and then got shredded, 6-1, in the rematch.