3 Takeaways: Parise Powers Isles 4-3 Win Over Flyers

In the span of nine days, the New York Islanders made up a lot of ground on the Philadelphia Flyers.
Meeting for the third time in a week-and-a-half, the Islanders collected their fifth and sixth points against their Metropolitan Division rivals after skating to a 4-3 comeback win on Tuesday night at UBS Arena.

Zach Parise broke a 3-3 tie with 8:09 to play in the third period, while Mathew Barzal (1PPG, 1A), Anders Lee and Noah Dobson scored for the Islanders. Claude Giroux, Justin Braun and Gerry Mayhew scored for the Flyers, whose winless streak reached a franchise record 13 games (0-10-3).
With the win, the Islanders moved back above NHL .500 (15-14-6) and sit in sixth place in the Metropolitan.

PARISE POTS WINNER, SCORES FOR SECOND-STRAIGHT GAME:

Last week, Zach Parise joked that he was a second-half player when talking about his goal production.
While the Islanders haven't quite reached the halfway point, perhaps Parise has reached a turning point after scoring goals in consecutive games for the Islanders.
Parise, who was stuck on one goal in his first 33 games as an Islander, scored his second goal of the season on Saturday vs Toronto and added a goal and an assist on Tuesday night vs Philadelphia.
"We always knew that his game was going to come around, not that it even needed to, he just needed to get a couple of bounces," Lee said. "We've all been in that situation where you're playing as hard as you can, as tough as you can, you feel like you're getting shots and chances and it's not going in, it can wear on you. For him to stick with it, have the right mentality and a great attitude and work his way through this is what everyone should be doing."

The veteran winger finished off some pretty passing off from Brock Nelson, who put a backhand pass between Scott Laughton's legs to Anthony Beauvillier, who dished to Parise for the one-timer. Parise made no mistake, one-timing the shot high glove on Martin Jones to break a 3-3 tie with 8:09 to play.
That put an exclamation point on Parise's eventful night, as the 37-year-old also assisted on Mathew Barzal's power-play goal at 5:42 of the second period, dishing a cross-ice pass from the goal line through the slot to Barzal.
"Parise is playing his best hockey of the year and is getting rewarded for it," Barzal said.
Parise also caught a deflected Noah Dobson slap shot to the side of the helmet in the second period, but stayed in the game. Parise now has 12 points (3G, 9A) in 35 games this season, with eight of those points coming in the past 13 games.
"I take a lot of pride in playing hard every night, sometimes it goes in, sometimes it's a little harder," Parise said. "Hopefully I'll be heating up here in the near future."

ISLES RALLY OUT OF EARLY HOLE:

The Islanders have won eight-straight meetings against the Flyers - and are 12-1-2 in their last 15 head-to-head - but like their contests on Jan. 17 and 18, it was not all smooth sailing for Islanders, who had to rally from an early two-goal deficit.
The Flyers jumped out to an early lead, as Ilya Sorokin (14 saves) allowed an uncharacteristic goal to Claude Giroux from a sharp angle 57 seconds into the game.
ISLANDERS 4, FLYERS 3
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KINGER'S CALLS
Dobson's Point Shot
Barzal and Lee Connect
Barzal's PPG
Parise's GWG
Philadelphia took a 2-0 lead on a Justin Braun goal at 12:48, a point shot that deflected off Andy Greene's skate and past Sorokin - the Flyers' second goal on only their fourth shot.
The Islanders mobilized quickly after falling behind, as Noah Dobson answered for the Islanders less than a minute after Braun's goal, sneaking a wrister from the point through an Oliver Wahlstrom screen and Martin Jones.
"It was a great response," Dobson said. "You never want to start the game down two, but we were composed on the bench, went out and got one, got some momentum off that and went into the second all tied."
Lee tied the score before the end of the period, burying a two-on-one feed with Barzal at 18:15. That tipped the momentum in the Islanders favor, as New York outshot Philadelphia 14-4 in the middle frame.
Barzal put the Islanders ahead 3-2 with a power-play goal at 5:42 of the second period, finishing off Parise's pass for his eighth goal of the season and team-leading 26th point. Mayhew tied the score during a four-on-four stretch 90 seconds into the third period, but Parise's goal put the Islanders ahead with 8:09 to play. Afterwards, the Islanders clamped down, only allowing two of their five shots against after taking the lead.

ISLES TRY LINE CHANGES, REVERT BACK MID-GAME:

The Islanders shuffled the deck ahead of Tuesday's contest vs the Flyers, or at least that was the plan.
Trotz separated longtime linemates Lee and Barzal, who had played together for 310:22 five-on-five minutes entering Tuesday, to start the game. Barzal was slated to skate with Beauvillier and Josh Bailey, while Lee skated with Nelson and Kieffer Bellows.
That configuration didn't last long, with Trotz reverting to more traditional lines (Lee-Barzal-Bailey, Beauvillier-Nelson-Bellows) in the wake of an 0-2 hole. The move paid off as Barzal and Lee connected on the Islanders second goal, with Barzal feeding Lee off the rush for the captain's 11th of the season.
"It got switched back up a little bit and we found ourselves back on the ice together and I think we had a pretty solid game from there on our and we want to build on that as a line," Lee said.
"You go in with a plan and it just didn't feel like it was happening, so we changed them back," Trotz said.
Oliver Wahlstrom also drew back into the lineup after a one-game absence, replacing Austin Czarnik, and was back on a line with JG Pageau and Parise. Wahlstrom finished the game with 14:08 TOI and two shots on goal.

BONUS TAKE: YANDLE SETS IRON MAN RECORD:

It's not often a Philadelphia Flyer gets an ovation from an Islanders crowd, but respect had to be paid to Flyers defenseman Keith Yandle on Tuesday night.
Yandle was playing in his 965th consecutive game, the most-ever by an NHL player, breaking a tie with Doug Jarvis, who played 964 games from 1975 to 1987.
It's an admirable streak, one that involves the skill to play in over 900 games, the toughness to play through injuries and the good fortune to avoid major injuries/COVID-19. For perspective, the Islanders all-time ironman, Billy Harris, played in 576 straight games for the Islanders - starting with the franchise's first-ever game in 1972 - and that is only 60% of Yandle's total.
Congratulations to Yandle.

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders host the LA Kings on Thursday night at UBS Arena. Puck drop is at 7 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.