5 Takeaways: Islanders Shut Out Flyers 3-0

The New York Islanders shut out the Philadelphia Flyers 3-0 on Tuesday night at Webster Bank Arena. The win was propelled by two power-play goals and one even-strength strike and improved the Islanders' preseason record to 3-0-1 in preseason.

The Islanders opened the game up with a two-goal first period on Anthony Beauvillier's power-play conversion and a net-front tally from Anders Lee, who played in his first game since recovering from an ACL injury last spring. Following a scoreless second period, the Islanders extended their lead up to 3-0 with 14.4 seconds left in the game, as Josh Bailey scored the team's second power-play marker.
Cory Schneider manned the pipes for the Islanders making 24 saves on 24 shots. Martin Jones played in net for Philadelphia and turned aside 27 of 30 shots.
Defenseman Zdeno Chara played his first game for the Islanders since 2001, when he started his career.
"I thought we played a decent game," Chara said. "There's always room to improve. We had a pretty good first 20 [minutes] then, we kind of let Philadelphia come back in the game. They put a lot of pressure on us. In the second, we were not as sharp as we should have been. I think they bounced back in the third. I think it's important we get these games in the preseason to sharpen up and to get our game to the full-60 minute [effort]."

Tweet from @NYIslanders: Beauvillier with a flick of the wrist makes it 1-0. pic.twitter.com/aY34jwAIW4

ISLANDER HOCKEY SUPPORTS SHUTOUT

The Islanders executed the win in traditional Islanders hockey fashion; tight-checking, patient, disciplined play.
The Islanders got off to a 2-0 start after the first 20 minutes of play with goals in the opening minutes and final minute.
Thirty-seven seconds into the frame, the Islanders received their first power play as Flyers forward Nicolas Aube-Kubel was called for high-sticking. Beauvillier delivered the Islanders first goal of the game - with a low blocker-side wrister - on that power play at 1:33 as Josh Bailey threaded him a pass in the high slot.
In the waning seconds of the period, Lee doubled the Islanders' lead from his office. The captain swept home a rebound from the doorstep with 55 seconds on the clock.
"It's important, he's a pretty important player for us," Trotz said of Lee's return. "It was good that he scored. You could tell that there was a little bit of rust to his game. The guys that haven't played, it's just a little bit quicker and you could tell in some of those execution areas that they weren't quite as sharp, but that will come. I expect him to play the next two games as well."
While the Islanders didn't score again until the final minute of the game they weathered waves of pushes from the Flyers - especially in the second period - but kept them at bay. In doing so, they were able to counter with promising looks of their own. Trotz deployed his top two lines he said he plans to implement on opening night of; Mathew Barzal, Lee and Kyle Palmieri and Bailey, Brock Nelson and Beauvillier.
The Islanders eventually cushioned their lead up to three goals with 14.4 seconds left in the game on a late penalty taken by Aube-Kubel again, who was assessed with tripping. After testing Jones with multiple looks on the power play - including several one-timers launched from Noah Dobson - Bailey collected a rebound down low, waited for a Flyers skater to sprawl out and then picked his shot to beat Jones on his glove-side.

Tweet from @NYIslanders: We missed this. pic.twitter.com/JE1XVEIbVo

LEE MAKES FIRST GAME APPEARANCE SINCE MARCH

Lee took the ice for game action for the first time since suffering an ACL injury - that required surgery - on March 11. The Islanders captain skated alongside Barzal and Kyle Palmieri, which has been a consistent trio all throughout training camp.
"It felt good to be out there, nice to get on the ice and be with the boys," Lee said. "It wasn't the prettiest of games overall, I think it was a sloppy game, but it felt good at times. Continue to build on this, I wasn't really nervous about the knee or anything, I knew it was in a good spot, a good place and it's come a long way. It's just getting reps in the game, just like any other preseason, just getting ready for the year."
In his first game back since suffering the season-ending injury, the 31-year-old logged 16:12 time on ice, took one tripping penalty in the second period, fired off two shots and was plus one.
While it was preseason and his first taste of game action since the knee injury, Lee didn't show any hesitation. He did what he knows best as he manned the net front and wasn't afraid to throw his 6-foot-3, 235-pound frame around.
He also showcased a rekindled chemistry with his longtime linemate in Barzal. The pair, plus the new addition of Palmieri, posted a strong showing for the Islanders as they generated a flurry of promising looks on net throughout the game.
"It was great to be out there with those two," Lee said. "I've obviously played a lot with [Barzal], but it was nice to have [Palmieri] out there. Just getting to know one another. We've been building in practice and to now, take it into a game was nice. We had some good looks at times. It was just one of those games where the puck wasn't really finding too many spots. Looking forward to the next one."

Tweet from @NYIslanders: back at it from the rafters. pic.twitter.com/LbJQxv0KJ2

THROWING IT BACK TO 2001

For the first time in 20 years, Islanders fans got to see Chara back in a Blue and Orange game sweater as the 44-year-old veteran defenseman made his preseason debut.
Chara, who the Islanders drafted 56th overall (third round) in 1996, was paired alongside 21-year-old Noah Dobson. To put that pairing in perspective, Chara was drafted by the and subsequently made his NHL debut three years before Dobson was born.
Chara played 18:57, took one penalty in the first period for delay of game, totaled four shots on goal and was plus-one.
The towering 6-foot-9, 250-pound blueliner tested - and almost was successful in beating - Jones with one of his signature teed-up blasts from the point. Jones struggled to collect the initial shot, but swatted it from crossing the goal line. Chara also nearly converted on a tic-tac-toe play in the second period, with his shot trickling behind Jones, but just cruising past the goal post.

Tweet from @NYIslanders: 24-save shutout. pic.twitter.com/BEnuNbtdkh

SCHNEIDER SECURES SHUTOUT IN FIRST FULL GAME

For the first time in the preseason slate, Schneider played a full game. The veteran goalie made 24 saves on as many shots.
"Originally, I was only going to play the first two [periods]," Schneider said. "Then, [Trotz] told me to go in for the third, which was fine with me. It's good to get the work. Every minute, every period counts right now after not having played in so long. I honestly felt better as the game went on. Early in the first it bounced off me - I'd like to have taken better care - but I thought after that, I was a little bit cleaner, handling the shots and the rebounds better. I was glad I got to play the third."
Schneider turned aside a shorthanded breakaway chance in the second period on Lee's tripping penalty as he denied Nate Thompson's high shot on the fly. In the opening minutes of the third period, he gathered a tip-in chance from the Flyers to preserve the Islanders' lead.
Schneider also made back-to-back saves in-tight on Philadelphia forward Garrett Wilson as he tried to jam the puck in.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Both units of special teams units displayed a strong performance in Tuesday night's victory. The Islanders power-play propelled the scoring with two goals and a 2-for-4 conversion while the Islanders' penalty kill finished the night 3-for-3.
"We had good success [on the power play] by two things," Trotz said. "A, I thought we had a little trouble with our entry originally, but once we got set up we started moving the puck around. We started coming downhill and being a little bit more of a threat. And we shot it. We weren't looking for just a tap-in. We were putting it in play, retrieving it and breaking them down. I liked that part of it for sure."
With a perfect 3-for-3 execution on the penalty kill, the Islanders have yet to allow a power-play goal against so far in the preseason and are now 14-for-14 on the PK.

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders travel to New Jersey's Prudential Center on Thursday night to take on the Devils. It'll be the second exhibition game between the Islanders and Devils of this year's preseason. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m.