Ilya Sorokin
Thursday night was a really good game from the Flyers if you are strictly looking for positive building blocks moving forward. There were two very notable areas that stepped up and helped get the game to overtime and put them in a position to win. But if you were strictly looking for two points and a chance to stay in the playoff race even just for a little longer, it was another night where even a solid effort came up short.
The Flyers got one point by getting Thursday’s game against the Islanders to overtime, but suffered the same fate as their previous game in Long Island, falling in a shootout, 3-2.
The Flyers week continues with a meeting against the New York Islanders, a team that just made their splash at the trade deadline by acquiring Kyle Palmieri and Travis Zajac from the New Jersey Devils.
The Flyers are about to embark on another rough month, facing numerous contenders and not having a lot of time off between games. It all starts with Saturday night’s game against the New York Islanders.
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.
Anthony Beauvillier got a wraparound chance and scored with 1:19 remaining in overtime to hand the Flyers a 2-1 loss to the Islanders on Monday night at Wells Fargo Center.
One more game remains with the Islanders on a three-game stretch, as things return home for the start of a four-game homestand. Time is of the essence for the Flyers and if a turnaround is going to happen, it needs to happen immediately.
The Flyers did get the outcome they needed in the last game, as a late goal propelled them to victory. That was a step in the right direction, but it has to continue. They will face the Islanders again on Saturday night, closing out a four-game road trip.
In the nine games the Flyers and Islanders have played since meeting in the playoffs, five have gone to overtime. The Flyers have won all five, including Sunday night on a goal by Kevin Hayes, securing a fourth straight win and a four-point weekend against the team that knocked them out of the playoffs last season.
Kevin Hayes scored on the power play with 38 seconds remaining in overtime to give the Flyers a 4-3 win over the Islanders, their fourth straight win, on Sunday night at Wells Fargo Center.
