3 Takeaways: Isles Score 2-1 Preseason Win vs Flyers

The New York Islanders won their first preseason game on Sunday night,
beating the Philadelphia Flyers 2-1 at UBS Arena
.
After dropping the first two games on the exhibition schedule, the Islanders scored a come from behind victory for their first win. The Islanders went down 1-0 in the first period on a 5-on-3 power-play goal from Tony DeAngelo, but tied the game in the second off a power-play goal from Kyle Palmieri. The Islanders took the lead on a goal from Scott Mayfield late in the second period, which held up as the eventual game winner, while Alexander Romanov scored his first point as an Islander with an assist.
"There's definitely more structure, especially from the first game I played," Noah Dobson said. "There's more structure, we've just had more time to work on that, more game-like situations."

POWER PLAY PRODUCES AFTER PRACTICING:

The Islanders scored their first power-play goal of the preseason at 10:15 of the second period. Palmieri collected a rebound from Brock Nelson's shot off the end wall and tucked it just past a diving Samuel Ersson.
The power-play goal was a payoff, as the Islanders started practicing their special teams on Thursday. After two preseason games where their power play went a combined 0-for-9, and allowed a shorthanded goal, the improvement wasn't immediately apparent. On their first opportunity with the man advantage, the first unit, featuring Palmieri, Nelson, Noah Dobson, Mathew Barzal and Anders Lee, looked out of sorts and failed to get a shot on goal. The second unit, featuring Robin Salo, Anthony Beauvillier, Zach Parise, Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Josh Bailey, sustained more pressure but still failed to score.
Their second time around, the first unit looked significantly better. Prior to the goal, the Islanders got two shots on goal, and had one shot blocked, prior to Nelson's initial attempt that Palmieri buried. They needed just 45 seconds to score.
"The power play was moving the puck well, aside from the first one maybe," Head Coach Lane Lambert said. "We moved the puck well, and we put pucks to the net. I thought both units had great net presence with Parise and Lee. We've worked on it a little bit here in the last few days, so it was nice to get some opportunities."
On their third power play opportunity, the Islanders had one shot on goal and had three shots blocked, with Wahlstrom breaking his stick on one attempt. The team maintained possession and kept up pressure after the penalty expired, and Mayfield scored on a shot from the point 16 seconds after the power play ended.

SALO SKATES WITH MAYFIELD:

Robin Salo is one of many defensemen in camp fighting for a job on the NHL roster this season, and he's been given the opportunity to prove himself in the early preseason games. After scoring a goal against the Rangers last Monday, Salo impressed the coaching staff on Sunday in 19:03 TOI. He got critical time in the final seconds of the third period, with the Flyers' goalie pulled and the team trying to hold on to a 2-1 lead.
"I thought (Salo) played a good game tonight," Lambert said. "I thought his 5-on-5 game was good. He showed poise with the puck, and he did a good job on the penalty kill at the end."
Sunday night's game contained a number of Islander veterans, including Mayfield, who skated on a pair with Salo throughout most of training camp and in the first preseason game against the Rangers. Salo and Mayfield played together again on Sunday, skating 9:45 TOI at five-on-five as a pair.
"It's easy to play with (Mayfield)," Salo said. "He makes every [d-man] look better. His presence out there, he's good in the d-zone, just solid and easy to read off. He's helped me a lot in my game, and then I just try to play my game and help the team out that way."
Salo also led the second power play unit, with Islander veterans Beauvillier, Parise, Pageau and Bailey. While the unit did not score this game, they sustained pressure and helped set up Mayfield's goal, which came just 16 seconds after the power play ended.

GOALIES PERFORM WELL:

Semyon Varlamov saved 16 of 17 shots he faced in the first two periods, a strong performance after his first start against the Rangers, where he gave up four goals in the first half of the game. One of Varlamov's best saves came on a wraparound try in the first period.
"He was very good," Lambert said. "He was sharp, he was tracking pucks well. The only goal to beat him was five on three, and it was a tough shot from a tough angle."
Jakub Škarek continued his strong preseason with his second consecutive scoreless appearance. Škarek has played just two periods so far across two games, and made seven saves in his third period appearance. He was especially sharp in the final seconds, making critical saves on final efforts by Noah Cates and Tony DeAngelo to tie the game.

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders rematch against the Flyers on Tuesday night in Philadelphia. Puck drop is at 7 p.m.