October 27th: Islanders 5/Flyers 3
The Philadelphia Flyers became the seventh victim of the New York Islanders’ winning-streak on Sunday night. Carter Hart got the start for the first time in eight days for the Flyers on the second night of a back-to-back. Defenseman Sam Morin also joined the Flyers’ lineup in place of Robert Hagg for the first time this season. The loss ended the Flyers’ three-game winning streak.
The Flyers struck first only one minute into the first period when Jake Voracek tipped the puck behind Varlamov giving the Flyers an early lead. Travis Sanheim earned the primary assist on Voracek’s goal. Only five minutes later, Anders Lee and Derek Brassard found the back of the net within sixty-five seconds of one another to give the Islanders a tying goal and 2-1 lead. Ross Johnston of the Islanders tallied a goal as well after the Flyers coughed up the puck in their defensive zone.
Late in the first period, Chris Stewart dropped the gloves with Ross Johnston after Cole Bardreau boarded Mikhail Vorobyev. Stewart’s fight inspired a bit of energy as Travis Konecny scored a tip=in goal from Kevin Hayes to get the Flyers within one goal. Going into the first intermission, the Flyers were down by a score of 3-2.
In the second period, the offense was all in favor of the Islanders. Ryan Pulock’s big blast from the blue line made it 4-2, on a shot that should have been a routine save for Hart. Morin and Sanheim were unable to keep up with offensive powerhouse Matthew Barzal who found himself on a breakaway and capitalized the opportunity to make it 5-2. At the 11:14 minute mark of the second period, goalie Brian Elliott replaced Hart in net for the Flyers. Hart allowed 5 goals on fourteen shots.
The third period did not have much to it, with little offensive coming from either team. The Flyers and Islanders both failed to score on their power play opportunities throughout the entire game. Elliott was impressive taking over for Hart and managed to keep the Islanders at bay. With 2:56 to go in the third, Claude Giroux scored top shelf on Varlamov to make it 5-3, however, the Flyers were unable to find the net again before the final buzzer. The Islanders outshot the Flyers by a tally of 33 to 31.
Cage Cleaning
- The Flyers’ physicality lacked in this game greatly. The Islanders out-hit the Flyers 34 to 14, which was surprising due to the addition of 6’7″, 227 pound Morin to the lineup. The Flyers must come out more physical in their next game against the Pittsburgh Penguins if they want to keep up with their cross-state rival.
- Fans expressed major concerns with 21-year-old goaltender Carter Hart. While Hart’s first few games definitely looked different than his play as of late, there is no reason to get worked up over it yet. Hart may be going through a little bit of a sophomore slump, but the last thing he needs is for fans to be turning on his so early.
- A more worrisome factor for the Flyers and their fans should be the defensive efforts from Shayne Gostisbehere and Sanheim against the Islanders. Both Gostisbehere and Sanheim were prime factors in multiple Islanders goals, whether being behind the play during a breakaway or losing battles along the boards, the Flyers’ defense needs to play tighter, especially when their next game is against Sidney Crosby and the Penguins.
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