Postgame 5: Ty and Ty again in win vs. Isles

The Philadelphia Flyers defeated the New York Islanders via shootout, 4-3 (1-0 in five rounds), at Wells Fargo Center on Saturday afternoon. Tyson Foerster led the way offensively with a pair of goals, while Samuel Ersson made 37 saves in regulation and overtime before going 5-for-5 in the shootout. Bobby Brink netted the winning shootout goal in the fifth round.

The Islanders came out of the gates with four of the game's first five shots on goal. Ersson made a tough save on Jean-Gabriel Pageau at 1:59. Jamie Drysdale hit the post from the left point off a faceoff win by Ryan Poehling in the offensive zone.

Matvei Michkov was unable to convert a breakaway opportunity at 7:33, shooting wide of the net against goalie Marcus Hogberg. When play resumed, Sean Couturier had a scoring chance from close range.

The Islanders went to the game's first power play -- very briefly -- at 9:06 as Drysdale was called tripping at 9:09. A mere three seconds later, Anders Lee was penalized for tripping off the left circle faceoff in the attack zone. Four-on-four play ensued for the next 1:57.

At 16:32, Drysdale returned to the penalty box on a slashing minor. The Flyers killed it off. In the final minute, Ersson stopped Pierre Engvall in close.

Shots on goal in the scoreless first period were 11-8 in the Islanders favor. The teams split the faceoffs evenly, 8-8. New York's Casey Cizikas won five of six.

Early in the second period, Tyson Foerster was hooked by Noah Dobson deep in the attack zone. The Flyers went to the power play at 3:08. Working a give-and-go with Sean Couturier, Foerster (PPG, 23rd) backhanded a shot under the crossbar for a 1-0 lead at 3:28. The secondary assist went to Michkov. Couturier's assist put him 11th on the Flyers all-time assist list, one ahead of Pelle Eklund.

At 4:57, Owen Tippett challenged goalie Hogberg with a curl-and-drag shot from the right circle that got on net in a hurry. The score remained 1-0. Couturier blocked back-to-back shot attempts by Alexander Romanov before Ersson covered a loose puck at 7:19.

The Islanders went back to the power play at 8:59 on a Cam York high-sticking minor behind the Philadelphia net. At 10:54, longtime Flyer-killer Anders Lee (PPG, 29th) scored from point-blank range off a gorgeous pass from Dobson. Tony DeAngelo drew the secondary assist.

At 12:00, Ersson stopped a close-range scoring chance from an unchecked Cizakas. The net came off its moorings at 14:03 as Kyle Palmieri crashed the cage.

The Islanders capitalized on an overskate and a puck support miscue by the Flyers to take a 2-1 lead off the transition rush at 17:58. Receiving a behind-the-back pass from Bo Horvat, Dobson (10th) beat Ersson through the five-hole. Scott Mayfield drew the second assist.

Second period shots on goal were 14-4 in New York's favor (26-12 Islanders through two periods). Second period faceoffs were tied at 11-11 (19-19 through 40 minutes).

DeAngelo was in the middle of an after-whistle scrum in the Flyers' offensive zone at 2:01 of the third period, which also involved Michkov.

Jakob Pelletier (7th) tied the game at 4:29. Receiving a pass from Owen Tippett, Pelletier slid home a backhander for a 2-2 tie. The second assist went to Poehling.

Two shifts later, Konecny and Kyle MacLean traded off scoring chances at either end of the ice, but Travis Sanheim was called for slashing at 6:20. The Islanders went to their fourth power play. Ersson made excellent saves on one timers by Horvat and DeAngelo.

With four seconds remaining on the Sanheim penalty, Mamim Tsyplakov took a hooking penalty. Just as play went back to 5-on-5, Foerster (2nd goal of the game, 24th of the season) scored from below the left circle for a 3-2 lead at 10:34. The assists went to Tippett and Noah Cates.

Adam Pelech took a hooking penalty at 13:32 of the third period, sending the Flyers on their fifth power play of the game. The Flyers were unable to score.

The Islanders pulled Hogberg for a 6-on-5 in the final three minutes. With exactly one minute left in regulation. Horvat's shot (27th goal of the season) from the right side went through a Lee screen into the net. DeAngelo and Lee earned the assists as New York tied the score at 3-3.

Overtime was scoreless. In the ensuing shootout:

1st round -- Konecny was stopped on a five-hole attempt. Ersson made a pad save on Horvat.

2nd round -- Michkov, shot wide of the net. Tsyplakov was stopped by the right pad.

3rd round -- Foerster was denied as Hogberg sealed the five hole. Holmstrom was stopped after making a nice initial deke.

4th round -- Tippett's backhander stoned by Hogberg's pad. With a flourish, Ersson made a low glove save on DeAngelo.

5th round -- Brink scored over the blocker. Palmieri stopped five-hole to end the game.

In a losing cause, Hogberg stopped 10 of 22 shots through regulation at OT. Third period shots on goal were 11-9 Islanders while overtime shots were 3-1 Islanders (40-22 Islanders overall).

FLYERS STARTING LINEUP

71 Tyson Foerster -27 Noah Cates - 10 Bobby Brink
39 Matvei Michkov - 14 Sean Couturier - 11 Travis Konecny
22 Jakob Pelletier - 25 Ryan Poehling - 74 Owen Tippett
44 Nicolas Deslauriers - 23 Karsen Dorwart - 19 Garnet Hathaway

24 Nick Seeler - 6 Travis Sanheim
8 Cam York - 9 Jamie Drysdale
5 Egor Zamula - 36 Emil Andrae

33 Samuel Ersson

[35 Aleksei Kolosov]

Scratches: 55 Rasmus Ristolainen (upper body), 82 Ivan Fedotov (healthy).

PP1: Konecny, Couturier, Brink, Foerster, Michkov
PP2: Sanheim, Tippett, Cates, Lycksell, Drysdale

TURNING POINT

The Pelletier goal seemed to energize the Flyers after two so-so periods. Pelletier has started to show the speed and skill he flashed with Calgary before the trade to the Flyers. However, despite Pelletier and Foerster goals in the third period, the Flyers were unable to close it out in regulation.

POSTGAME 5 ("RAV4 THINGS" REVISITED)

1. High-scoring game? Entering Saturday's tilt, the Flyers and Islanders had both been involved in exceptionally high-scoring matches in recent days. That wasn't the case in this game, Against the Islanders, the game was scoreless at the first intermission and a one-goal game (2-1 New York) through two periods. New York was the better team for 40 minutes but the Flyers' play picked up in the third.

2. Quest for 80 points -- Travis Konecny: The Flyers' leading scorer came into Saturday's game with 75 points (24 goals, 51 assists) on the season. In Saturday's matinee, Konecny was held off of the scoresheet.

3. Michkov watch: The Flyers' dynamic 20-year-old rookie winger brought 59 points (24g, 35a) for the season into Saturday's tilt. He hit the 60-point mark with his second period power play assist, tying the late Peter Zezel's 1984-85 season for ninth on the Flyers' rookie points list.

4. Tyson Foerster goal binge: Coming off a hat trick at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday, Foerster had six goals over his last five games heading into Saturday. He made it seven tallies in six games with his bar-down power play backhander in the middle frame and then eight markers in six games (five in the last two) with his go-ahead goal in the third period.

5. X-factor -- Special teams: The Flyers went 1-for-5 on the power play on Saturday. They were 3-for-4 on the penalty kill.