Anthony Beauvillier
The Flyers followed up a blowout loss in Seattle on Thursday with yet another defeat on Saturday in Vancouver, falling to the Canucks, 6-2, for their fourth straight loss.
Three goals in the third period, including two in a 22-second span put the New York Islanders up for good, as the Flyers suffered their 10th straight loss on Saturday night.
A goal midway through the third period was the difference for the Islanders, as the Flyers suffered the loss for the 13th straight game, setting a new franchise record in a 4-3 defeat on Tuesday night.
On one night, the Flyers made it a game late in the second, then had an early third-period goal dash their hopes. The next, they carried the play and took a lead into the late stages of the third before finding a way to lose another game.
The Islanders were able to get the game tied and force overtime late in the third. Eventually in the shootout, both teams went nine rounds before the winning goal was scored, giving the Islanders a 4-3 win over the Flyers to extend the losing streak to nine games.
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 Flyers look to avoid making that an eight-game losing streak as they take on another team struggling to find its footing this season. The New York Islanders are the opponent for the next two nights for a home-and-home, starting Monday night on the road for the Flyers.
The Islanders struck for two goals in the first period and had a pair of power-play goals in the game to claim a 3-0 win over the Flyers.
A pair of goals by Claude Giroux erased a two-goal deficit and Carter Hart was having an outstanding game. Unfortunately, the Islanders got the extra point in the shootout, defeating the Flyers, 3-2, on Saturday night.
Losses are losses at this stage of the season. Whether it’s 9-0, or 6-1, or 2-1 in overtime, they all hurt the same in the standings. It’s a missed opportunity at two points that you had when the night began. But in this game, when the Flyers did deliver the effort and executed better for almost the entire 60 minutes, two glaring mistakes cost them, and this time, they didn’t have the answers to make a couple of mistakes change the result.