After a wonderful comeback but frustrating blown game against these same Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night, Barry Trotz and his New York Islanders looked to send a message loud and clear and get back in the win column. The message they looked to send was that it would be difficult, but they can still give total effort and grind every night without their captain, Anders Lee, who is out for the season.
The Isles came out buzzing in the first and tossed Philadelphia around. New York scored four goals in the first, coming from Jean-Gabriel Pageau at 6:11, Jordan Eberle at 8:01, Casey Cizikas at 10:03, and Cizikas again at 15:25. Joel Farabee scored for the Flyers 17:52 in. Thomas Hickey assisted two goals in the first, finishing the night with two points. He hasn’t played an NHL game in nearly two years.
There were no goals in the second period, but New York was the better team.
9:45 into the third period, Anthony Beauviller ended his slump and scored his third goal of the season. Brock Nelson got the assist. 15:46 in, Josh Bailey scored his fourth goal of the season, making the score 6-1 in New York. The Isles outshot the Flyers 28-24 in the game. Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin turned aside 23/24 shots, good for a .958 save percentage. Despite not getting on the score sheet. Michael Dal Colle had a lot of confidence from the previous game. Hickey was fantastic.
Along with Hickey and Nelson, Oliver Wahlstrom (2), Bailey, and Mathew Barzal had assists. The islanders seem to be finding their ways quite well with their captain out. They are not the same team without him, but they will need to show mettle and grind for sixty-minutes every night in order to win and secure a playoff spot.
The boys in blue and orange play the Flyers for the third consecutive time on Monday in Philadelphia, with puck drop set for 7:00 PM.
