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Wrap: Flyers Comeback Goes for Naught in 5-3 Loss to Isles |
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A three-goal comeback by the Philadelphia Flyers from a 3-0 deficit by went for naught as the New York Islanders pulled out a 5-3 victory in the final minute of the third period after the Flyers had just fought back to even the game.
The Flyers left themselves with no margin of error as they fell into a 3-0 crater in the opening period. Philadelphia dominated the second period and made a push in the third period before getting the game to the brink of overtime.
Josh Bailey (12th) Matt Martin (5th) and Jordan Eberle (10th) built a 3-0 lead for New York in the first period. Mathew Barzal set up the first and third goals for the Islanders, and later figured in the game-winner for his team.
Travis Konecny (19th) and Robert Hägg (2nd) narrowed the gap to 3-2 in the middle frame.
In the third period, Sean Couturier (16th) pulled the Flyers even with 1:32 left but Ryan Pulock restored the lead at 19:19. Komarov tacked on an empty netter to seal the outcome.
Brian Elliott stopped 20 of 24 shots. Semyon Varlamov earned the win with 35 saves.
Philadelphia went 0-for-2 on the power play, and 1-for-1 on the penalty kill.
The Flyers' first period performance was disastrous: Lapses in attention to detail, poor risk-reward decision making, getting outworked in the defensive zone and being mostly unable to generate extended offensive zone possession all came into play. The Flyers had a 10-9 shot edge in the 1st period but high-danger chances were 6-1 Isles and, of course, it ended up 3-0 Isles on the scoreboard.
On the Bailey goal, three Flyers went to the same corner, Ivan Provorov turned the puck over up the wall and Tyler Pitlick accidentally deflected the shot. On the Martin goal, Phil Myers pinched in deep and Travis Sanheim gambled and lost on a puck battle on the boards, leaving Scott Laughton as the lone defender back on a 2-on-1. On the third goal, Barzal turned the Flyers inside out and Eberle potted a juicy rebound.
The second period was a 180-degree swing for the Flyers. They generated much better pace and hemmed New York in their own end for lengthy segments of the frame. Even before the Flyers got on the board, they were on the brink of scoring several times. Konecny missed an empty net. Varlamov robbed Couturier. Then the pucks started to go in the net.
Konecny received a backhanded saucer pass from JVR and, using Leo Komarov as a screen, beat Varlamov to make it a 3-1 game at 9:34.
Then the Flyers drew within a goal at 11:56. Claude Giroux fired low, looking for a rebound, and got it. The puck went to Hägg, who stashed it home. Scott Laughton got secondary assists on both goals.
Later, with Kevin Hayes in the box on the game's first penalty, Michael Raffl was denied on a shorthande breakaway, shooting low to the glove side.
The Flyers had back-to-back power play opportunities to tie the game in the third period; the result of strong work in the offensive zone. Unfortunately, neither power play was successful. Just after the first one expired, Konecny came an inch or less from tying the game, tipping the puck off the inside of the post. With time ticking down near 3:00, Tyler Pitlick put on a great move in the offensive zone.
Following a timeout, the Flyers pulled Elliott for an extra attacker. With 1:32 left, Couturier played a Giroux carom off the end boards and jammed it home before he was knocked to the ice from behind.
After the Flyers battled all the way back to tie the game at 3-3, the Couturier line and the pairing of Ivan Provorov and Matt Niskanen needed a respite. The next five-man unit on the ice was the forward trio of van Riemsdyk, Hayes and Pitlick along with the defense pair of Sanheim and Myers.
The Barzal line hemmed the Flyers in and got them to chasing the puck around the zone. Finally, Pulock hammered a point shot upstairs for the winning goal. JVR was a bit of a high screen on the play and the shot was a rocket but Elliott needed to find a way, somehow, to get a piece of the shot at 19:19. Subsequently, Komarov scored an empty net goal at 19:56.
The Flyers are back in action on Thursday, as they face the Florida Panthers in Sunrise. On Saturday, Philly visits the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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