WRAPUP: FLYERS BLOW OUT ISLES, 5-2
The Philadelphia Flyers ran their preseason record to 3-1-0 with a 5-2 win over the New York Islanders on Friday evening at the Wells Fargo Center. With New York dressing a mostly "B" group lineup in Philadelphia with its "A" squad playing a split squad game against the New Jersey Devils, the Flyers overcame a sloppy start to pull away as the night progressed.
Shayne Gostisbehere (power play) and Brayden Schenn scored their respective third goals of the preseason for Philadelphia. The Flyers also got tallies from Chris Porter, Michael Raffl and Matt Read (power play) and a two-assist performance by Evgeny Medvedev.
Schenn's goal was a beauty, scored on a line rush down the right wing. Beating Islanders' defenseman Jesse Graham to the outside, Schenn then made a sharp inside cut to move across the crease and swept the puck home before being sent airborne. Playing his off-wing, Schenn was able to shoot on his forehand as he moved across.
"Playing the other side you may not have the chance to pull it back on the forehand and take it to the far post just cause you have the puck sitting on the outside rather than the inside. Maybe that’s a play right there but that’s an instance where I just caught the [opponent] flat footed," said Schenn.
Kakstol said that it is still too early to evaluate where the team is both offensively and defensively. However, is an encouraging early sign to see the team getting balanced scoring and to be getting its share of goals from the "hard" areas of the ice.
"It is nice to have the scoring spread out," said Hakstol. "If you look at some of the goals from down around the blue paint, whether it's power power play goals or even some of the goals on point shots where there's a good net-front presence. The guy standing down on top of the blue paint doesn't get a point but unless that guy fights for the space and is willing to go there, the goal isn't scored."
Making his second start of the preseason, Michal Neuvirth stopped 23 of 25 shots to earn the victory. He appeared to settle in as the game moved along.
"It’s a process, feeling good in practices, definitely felt better today as the game went on, felt really good in the 3rd period," Neuvirth said after the game. "t’s good to have early shots against and got a little unlucky on the 2nd goal, but overall I thought I was good."
Added left winger Porter, "We didn’t come out and play great, they did. So [Neuvirth] kept us in it and it’s what’s were asking him to do and I thought he did what he was supposed to do.…
Gostisbehere and his defense partner, fellow second-year pro Robert Hà¤gg seemed to have good chemistry on the ice, with each one complementing the other. While Gostibehere continued to dazzle with his offensive prowess, Flyers coach Dave Hakstol cautioned that Gostisbehere's all-around development is a work in progress.
"You evaluate the total game," said Hakstol. "This is a tough game to play in. I'm very positive about the impact Shayne is having. He didn't have a good first couple days of camp but he's working on his game and he's doing a good job."
"There are big positives to what he's bringing to the table. He's coming off a year where he didn't play a lot of hockey. When you evaluate some areas of the game, areas away from the puck, those are things he'll continue to work at. He's done a very nice job on the power play."
New York took a short-lived lead midway through the first period on a Bracken Kearns goal. Philly responded quickly and then went on to build a 4-1 lead before Casey Cizikas temporarily cut the deficit back to two goals. Christopher Gibson played the first two periods in net, stopping 16 of 20 shot and being charged with the loss. Kevin Poulin took over in goal for the third period, turning back five of six shots.
The Flyers continued their torrid preseason power play performance, cashing in on two of five opportunities. They also went six-for-seven on the penalty kill.
Note: The NHL-mandated 3-on-3 overtime "rehearsal" originally scheduled for this night was canceled due to road travel considerations coinciding with the Pope's visit to Philadelphia.
1st Period Highlights
After a bad line change the Flyers, Michael Del Zotto took a hooking penalty to prevent a scoring chance at the 55-second mark. The Islanders had an early scoring chance on the power play but killed off the penalty.
Neuvirth was tested again in close but made the stop despite a collision in the crease. Shots were 4-1 Islanders through the first four minutes.
Del Zotto wristed a point shot through traffic. Gibson hung on cleanly for a stoppage at 6:26.
After Voracek was denied on a wraparound attempt, he was sent to the box moments later for a cross-checking penalty behind the Islanders' net at 7:59. The Flyers had three failed clearing attempts -- Radko Gudas, Chris Porter and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare -- before the puck went out of the zone. Shortly thereafter, the Islanders scored.
Mike Halmo beat Evegeny Medvedev off the rush, and the Flyers never got their coverage set as Michael Del Zotto got spun around by Halmo and then did not pick up anyone in front. Bracken Kearns scored from the doorstep at 9:40 to make it 1-0.
The Flyers got the goal right back to tie the score at 1-1 at the 10:44 mark. The puck went around the boards and was kept by Medvedev at the right point. Porter moved in front and deflected the puck home. Medvedev got the lone assist.
Philadelphia got away away with some errant passes in the neutral zone and high in the defensive zone -- pucks going off the heels of teammates' skates -- as time ticked down near five minutes left in the period. No shots resulted.
With 4:34 left in the period, the Flyers went on the power play as Casey Cizikas went off for slashing. The Philadelphia power play didn't need long to cash in. After a crisp puck rotation and a save by Gibson and a failed clear by Calvin de Haan, the puck went to Gostisbehere, who hammered home a shot into the net for his third goal of the preseason and a 2-1 lead for the Flyers. The goal was unassisted.
Chris VandeVelde received a high-sticking double minor at. Neuvirth came up with a loose puck in the crease at the 40-second point of the long PK. With 53 seconds left on the kill and 32.5 seconds left in the period, Thomas Hickey tripped Colin McDonald behind the New York net to cancel out the rest of the New York advantage.
Shots in the first period were 11-8 Islanders.
2nd Period Highlights
There were 21 seconds of carryover 4-on-4 time to start the period. No shots or chances ensued on the brief 4-on-4 or the Flyers' short power play.
Neuvirth appeared to be partially screened on a shot that came through from the point around the three-minute mark but picked it up in time to fight off the puck.
Brayden Schenn scored his third of the preseason, beating Jesse Graham wide on the right wing, took the puck right at the net and beat Gibson at 3:55 to give the Flyers a 3-1 lead. Gudas and Andrew MacDonald got the assists.
The Flyers quickly extended the lead to 4-1, as Raffl followed up his own rebound from the left side and flipped the puck off the goalie and into the top of the net at 4:28. Del Zotto and Voracek received the helpers on Raffl's second of the preseason.
A few minutes later, Raffl made a nice play on the backcheck to break up a New York rush on a counter attack after a loose puck off errant pass by Claude Giroux intended for a pinching Gostisbehere ended up in the Isles' possession.
Cizikas ripped a top of the right circle shot high to the short side over Neuvirth's glove to cut the Islanders deficit to 4-2 at 8:46. Matt Martin and Loic Leduc got the assists.
At 10:12, a sliding Gibson got across his crease to deny Raffl from the hash marks after a nice cross-ice feed from Giroux.
The Giroux line enjoyed a dominating shift deep in New York territory. When the puck finally came out, Medvedev won a foot race to the puck near the Flyers blueline and turned the puck right back up ice.
With 4:11 left in the period, Gostisbehere narrowly missed his second goal of the game on an intelligent pinch on the rush.
MacDonald got the gate for hooking Halmo in the Flyers defensive at 17:52. No goal resulted.
Shots were 12-5 Flyers in the second period; 20-16 Flyers through two periods.
3rd Period Highlights
Poulin took over in goal for the Islanders at the start of the third period.
Neuvirth fumbled a right point shot off his glove into the slot and the puck went out to the right point. This time, the Flyers' goalie snapped the puck out of the air with authority.
Raffl received a head-check minor penalty at 1:11. Midway through the minor, Medvedev showed a lot of poise to fight off two Islanders' forecheckers and the clear the puck. Philly killed the penalty off with relative ease thereafter.
Philly went back to the power play at 3:33. Leduc flipped the puck over the glass for a delay of game minor. With 29 seconds left on the power play, a rising one-timer by Giroux glanced off Schenn as he jumped up in front. Schenn checked his chin for blood. The Flyers failed to score on the advantage.
Schenn forced a turnover directly in front of the New York net but was not quite able to finish it on the backhand at 6:29 as the puck deflected off the defenseman over the net.
The Flyers received a power play on a Josh Bailey slash of VandeVelde in the New York defensive zone at 6:53. Late in the advantage, the Flyers scored to make it a 5-2 lead. A cross-ice pass return from Medvedev made its way to Matt Read at the left post and he tucked it into the empty side at 8:49. Gagner got the secondary assist.
Giroux drew a slashing penalty on de Haan deep in the New York zone at 10:50. This time, the Flyers could not capitalize.
Gudas went off for high-sticking in the defensive zone corner at 13:21. Neuvirth did a good job at finding a Clutterbuck shot through a screen and holding on for a stoppage 25 seconds into the kill. Philly successfully killed off the rest to go 6-for-7 on the PK for the night.
Read blocked a shot in the final 20 seconds and the Flyers took it home from there.
Shots in the third period were 9-6 in the Islanders' favor. The Flyers outshot New York, 26-25, for the game.