Jean-Gabriel Pageau
Within 10 minutes, the Islanders opened up a three-goal lead of their own, and added a fourth goal with under five minutes to play. That was all they needed, as a late first-period goal by the Flyers was all they could get in a 6-1 defeat to the Islanders on Saturday night.
On the back end of a back-to-back, coming off a 9-0 drubbing, it was going to take something deep down for the Flyers to win this game. They got it from a line that was powered by their captain, and the goal came from their strongest player, one whose name was branded by an entire hockey community, city, and locker room.
It is now 147 days since the Islanders eliminated the Flyers from the playoffs, and the two teams get back on the ice to face each other on Saturday night at Wells Fargo Center. Game time is at 7 p.m.
The Flyers have a chance to force this series to the brink with a win in Game 6, and it could require them to do so without one of their top players in the process.
Just like in Game 2, when the Flyers let another 3-1 lead in the third period get away, they had the answer in overtime. It took over 12 minutes, but the Flyers remain alive in the series with a deflection goal by Scott Laughton. 5 takeaways from Game 5.
The Flyers are not dead yet. A point shot by Ivan Provorov was deflected by Scott Laughton and beat Semyon Varlamov to give the Flyers a 4-3 overtime win in Game 5 that keeps their season alive.
There is a chance this could be the last game of the 2019-20 season for the Flyers. There is a chance their time in the Toronto bubble will end. But it is also in the control of the Flyers to try to make a push and at least inch their way back into the series with a win in Game 5 and forcing a Game 6.
It played out so much like the other games in the series. The Flyers had their moments. The Islanders had more of those moments. They used turnovers and transition plays to their advantage again. And while the Flyers had more shot volume and traffic to the net than in previous games, the goalie who kept them in Game 2 made sure they were in Game 4 and got the result needed.
The Islanders scored twice in the third period, helping to put away the Flyers in the game and take a commanding 3-1 lead in the series with a 3-2 win on Sunday night.
The Flyers are in a must-win position in Game 4, as they get right back at it on Sunday night. A win evens the series and sets the Flyers up for a best-of-three to decide the winner of the series. A loss puts their backs against the wall with three games for the Islanders to finish off the series.
