The Philadelphia Flyers traveled to Elmont, New York, to take on the Islanders in their second game of a back-to-back. Dan Vladar got the start in net. Alex Bump, Garnet Hathaway, and Noah Juulsen were inserted into the lineup with Denver Barkey, Emil Andrae, and Carl Grundstrom becoming healthy scratches. The Flyers scored two goals in the first and never looked back. Vladar had a bounce-back game in net, and the offense came alive for two huge points. The orange and black improved to 38-26-12 on the season.
The Flyers got the game’s first power play at the 7:43 mark of the first period as Adam Pelech was called for hooking. They had a few big chances from in tight, and Jamie Drysdale rang a shot off the post. The Islanders were able to clear the puck down a few times as well.
Owen Tippett gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead at the 13:54 mark of the first. He forced Ryan Pulock to turn the puck over and then went on a two-on-one with Travis Sanheim. Tippett took a pass from Sanheim and put a backhander past the left skate of Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin. Sanheim received the lone assist.
Bump made it 2-0 Flyers at the 15:01 mark of the first period. He took a pass from Matvei Michkov and put a wrist shot over the blocker of Sorokin from the left circle. Michkov and Noah Cates tallied assists.
Marc Gatcomb got called for high-sticking at the 15:09 mark of the first, which gave the Flyers their second power play. The Islanders played a game of keep away for a while, and they blocked a few shots from Tippett and Rasmus Ristolainen.
The Flyers took a 3-0 lead at the 2:52 mark of the second period courtesy of Michkov. He banked a backhander off the back of Sorokin from behind the net. The goal was unassisted.
The Islanders got their first power play at the 3:54 mark of the second as Luke Glendening was called for hooking. The Flyers played a little game of keep away and cleared the puck down a few times. Garnet Hathaway had a big shot block, and Vladar made a save on Emil Heineman.
Travis Konecny got called for tripping at the 12:50 mark of the second period. This gave the Islanders their second power play. Vladar made a save on Matthew Schaefer, and the Flyers did a great job of blocking shots. The Islanders had a few chances from in tight, but they missed shots wide.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau got the Islanders on the board at the 15:37 mark of the second. Matthew Barzal found Pageau in the slot from just below the right circle, and he put a wrist shot past the blocker of Vladar. 3-1 Flyers. Barzal and Simon Holmstrom picked up assists.
The Islanders went on their third man advantage just two minutes into the third period as Michkov was called for interference. Vladar ended up making saves on Bo Horvat and Schaefer. The Flyers also did a great job of winning faceoffs and clearing down the ice.
Sanheim made the score 4-1 Flyers at the 9:16 mark of the third. He took a cross-ice pass from Michkov and put a snapshot past the blocker of Sorokin from the slot. Michkov and Bump were given assists.
Sorokin was pulled with 7:58 remaining in the third period in favor of the extra attacker, with the Islanders down by three. He’d have to return due to an offside. He was pulled again with 5:51 left, but again had to go back in due to an icing. Sorokin was pulled one last time, but the Islanders couldn’t get any more pucks past Vladar.
Flyers went zero for two on the power play and killed off all three Islander man advantages.
Vladar saved 21 of 22 shots, giving him a .955 save percentage.
Goal Summary
1st Period:
Tippett (28) Assists: Sanheim (25)
Bump (4) Assists: Michkov (25), Cates (26)
2nd Period:
Michkov (17) Assists: none
Pageau (16) Assists: Barzal (50), Holmstrom (21)
3rd Period:
Sanheim (10) Assists: Michkov (26), Bump (4)
Flyers Next Game
Flyers next game is Sunday, Apr. 5, in Philadelphia against the Boston Bruins.
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