Hart sharp in preseason debut
Flyers drop 3-2 decision on Long Island in overtime
by Bill Meltzer @BillMeltzer
In the rematch of Monday's preseason opener in Philadelphia, the Flyers were defeated by the New York Islanders in overtime, 3-2, at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, NY, on Tuesday night. The Islanders iced an entirely different lineup on Tuesday, while the Flyers had four players (German Rubtsov, Mikhail Vorobyev, Maksim Sushko and Chris Stewart) who appeared in both games.
Below are news, notes & takeaways from the loss:
* Carter Hart stopped all 14 shots he faced in 20:02 of action before giving way to J.F. Berube (20 saves on 23 shots)... Hart made good early saves on Kyle MacLean and Oliver Wahlstrom. Apart from one preventable rebound -- which the defense cleaned up immediately -- Hart was sharp on the rare times he was tested in the first period.Video: PHI@NYI: Hart denies Johnston from in front
* Michael Raffl and Maksim Sushko scored for the Flyers. Chris Bigras had two primary assists. Nate Prosser and Nicolas Aube-Kubel chipped in one helper apiece.
* Travis Sanheim led the Flyers in ice time with 26:43... Scott Laughton was 10-for-16 (62.5 pct) on faceoffs.
* Mason Yobst won the game with an overtime rebound goal after Derick Brassard and Jordan Eberle scored for the Islanders in regulation. Mathew Barzal had a pair of assists, and Noah Dobson and Anders Lee had one.
* A clean faceoff win by Scott Laughton against Mathew Barzal started the sequence that led to the game's first goal. From the slot, Michael Raffl re-directed a drive by Chris Bigras at 3:30.Video: PHI@NYI: Raffl tips Bigras' shot home from slot
* Andy Andreoff and Nicolas Aube-Kubel tried to set a physical tone in the first period... A Connor Bunnaman shot from the right side of the net was the lone Flyers shot on their first power play... Laughton was shaken up on a hit midway through the period but went to the bench under his own power and returned to the ice... Raffl pressured a turnover by the Islanders in their own end. Laughton pounced on the puck but hammered a shot wide of the net.
* The Flyers received a four-minute power play early in the second period after Barzal high-sticked Mikhail Vorobyev in the mouth, drawing blood. The Flyers generated massive pressure, and seven shots on goal, but couldn't bag a goal. Most notably, Bunnaman got hit with an Aube-Kubel shot, and the puck bounced off crossbar and into crease but didn't go in.
* Continuing a strong all-around performance, Rubtsov unfortunately hit the left post from the lower left circle leading a 3-on-1 counterattack off an Islanders turnover. Linemate David Kase also showed some speed and creativity with the puck over the first two periods.
* Kurtis Gabriel, who earlier dropped the gloves with Ross Johnston, was injured early in the third period on a hit by Anders Lee. Gabriel's left leg/foot went awkwardly into the boards, and he could not put much weight on it as he limped to the tunnel.
* With the Islanders' net empty, the Flyers did a poor job at trying to close the game out; doing too much chasing and watching. Eberle found a seam and didn't miss from the slot with 1:34 left off a Barzal feed.
* On a counterattack by the Islanders in OT, Berube was unable to corral a Lee rebound. Yobst tapped it home from the crease to end the game at 4:07 of the extra frame.