Matching up against another deep, four-line, defensively-stingy opponent, the Isles didn't stray from the style of play that handidly won a pair of series over the Panthers and Capitals. They forechecked hard in the offensive zone to own the first and third periods, kept the Flyers to the perimeter in the defensive zone during a second-period siege and counterpunched in between.
Aware of Philadelphia's 7-0 record when scoring first in the playoffs, the Isles sought to get on the board first and came out with a firey start, forcing the Flyers into mistakes and turnovers. It was rewarded with an early 1-0 lead, as Greene's slapper through traffic put the Isles up 1-0 at 6:06, but the Isles didn't let up, outshooting Philadelphia 15-4 in the opening frame.
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"I wasn't surprised, I knew we'd be ready," Head Coach Barry Trotz said of his team's start after three days off.
But in a matchup of similar styles, the Flyers gave the Isles a taste of their own medicine in the second. Philadelphia opened the period with an 8-0 shot advantage, holding the Isles without a shot on goal until a Josh Bailey drive off the rush 8:18 in. Overall, the Flyers outshot the Isles 15-7 in the middle frame, but the Isles were able to withstand the pressure, thanks in large part to another sound performance from Varlamov.
"The second period we kind of got away from our game a little bit, and they took it to us," Greene said. "We saw how the first and third periods went and that's more of what we need out of our game."
Withstanding the barrage paid dividends early in the third, as Pageau extended the Isles lead by finishing off aggressive forechecking from Ross Johnston - who had a game-high 10 hits - and Leo Komarov. Johnston pinned Travis Sanheim against the end boards and while he and Komarov drew the attention of three Flyers, Pageau posted up in front of the net undetected, roofing his fifth of the playoffs at 2:54.
The 2-0 lead forced the Flyers to open up, and the Isles top line of Anders Lee, Mathew Barzal and Jordan Eberle took advantage. Eberle chipped a puck ahead for Barzal in the Flyers end, who dished a slick cross-ice feed to Lee for 3-0 marker at 8:50. The goal was Lee's fourth of the postseason.
The three-goal hole prompted the Flyers to pull Carter Hart (25 saves) for an extra attacker with eight minutes to play and Toews hit a long-range empty-netter to ice the game.
"We just tried to go into this game and establish our game," Trotz said of his team's Game 1 philosophy. "Get to our game as quick as possible and see what their game is about."