Game 3 Notebook: Isles Regain Series Lead with 3-1 Win

The New York Islanders regained their series lead with a 3-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 3 on Saturday night at Scotiabank Arena. The Isles lead the best-of-seven series 2-1, their first such lead in the Second Round since 1993.

The Islanders received contributions from up and down their lineup in the proverbial "swing game." After a 1-0 deficit in the first period, the Islanders responded with second-period goals from Matt Martin and Leo Komarov and a third period, power-play goal from Anders Lee to grab the Game 3 win. Semyon Varlamov made 26 saves.
With the win, the Isles also snapped the Flyers' previous eight-game unbeaten streak when they had scored the first goal in the postseason.
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"That's the way we're built, we're not blessed with those top-end guys in terms of heavy, high-offensive guys, but we have a lot of very valuable key pieces that can contribute in different ways," Head Coach Barry Trotz said. "You get a goal from Martin, you get a goal from the Leo-Brassard-Pageau line, you get [a goal] from the power play. Nelson and Barzal's line have done a lot of the offensive stuff. You get contributions through the whole lineup. That's how we're built. I think guys feel it. They are a part of it. When you get contributions through the whole lineup, it goes into the Islander concept."
The 3-1 final score indicates a decisive Islanders win, but the first period in particular was all Philadelphia even despite the Isles 10-9 shot advantage. The Flyers had their legs going right from puck drop, were relentless on the forecheck and utilized a high flip to get pucks down the ice and establish some offensive zone time.
Philadelphia's pressure paid off as they broke the ice with 5:42 remaining in the first period. In transition, the Flyers situated themselves in the Isles' zone and began to circulate the puck around. After a few cycles, Tyler Pitlick sniped a shot from the left faceoff circle through a narrow shooting lane that was crowded by James Van Riemsdyk and Ivan Provorov, who screened Varlamov's vision.
The Isles ended the period with two strong shifts and a redirection chance from Anders Lee on a Devon Toews point shot. While down by a goal, they carried that momentum over into the second period.
The Islanders came out flying in the middle frame and didn't let up as they entered the second intermission with a 2-1 lead and a 15-6 shot-on-goal advantage. Their breakouts, puck battles and transition play was much cleaner in the second period as they settled into a rhythm and hemmed the Flyers in their own zone.
"We really settled into our game," Lee said. "The first 10 minutes or so we were getting into it and slow to close. Once we started to pick it up and get our feet moving, we played a much faster game."
In the first five minutes, Barzal had back-to-back Grade A chances to put the Islanders on the board. He nearly converted on a wraparound attempt and seconds later in the same shift, rifled off a one-timer that Hart denied.

Barzal was finally able to get on the scoresheet as he orchestrated the Isles' first goal off of a tremendous effort 7:12 into the period. The dynamic forward chased down a puck that his linemate Jordan Eberle had sent down before heading for a line change. As Martin hopped over the boards for his shift he read the play and anticipated Barzal's pass by going to the net. Positioned low in the slot, Martin slipped Barzal's feed just under Hart's arm to even the score 1-1.
The Isles continued to apply the pressure and disrupt any rhythm or momentum Philadelphia had assembled. The Isles bookended their dominant second period as they took a 2-1 lead with 5.1 seconds on the clock. Derick Brassard's initial wrist-shot from the left faceoff circle was blocked by Hart's shoulder, but the winger stuck with it and forced a turnover off Philadelphia blueliner Matt Niskanen. Brassard connected with Komarov, who backhanded the eventual game-winner past Hart plus, and gave the Isles a boost of confidence heading into the final frame.
"We're trying to be good on the forecheck, we're trying to create turnovers and put pressure on their D," Brassard said. "We started doing that in the second period and got rewarded."
The first power play of the game, for either team, came early into the third period as Robert Hagg slashed Jean-Gabriel Pageau in the neutral zone. The Islanders took that opportunity and made the most of it as Eberle fed Lee who was shielding Hart down low. With his back to the net, the Isles captain sent a backhanded shot towards Hart, who deflected the puck into the net with his stick to provide the Isles' insurance 3-1 goal.

Even with a two-goal lead, the Islanders didn't let up. They held the Flyers without a shot on goal through the first 5:22 of the third period.
The Isles ended the third period with another power play chance that came up short, but also with a huge penalty kill. Lee was sent to the box with 4:10 left in regulation for playing with his helmet on after it was knocked off in a battle along the boards. For the third-straight game, the Islanders kept the Flyers from striking twine in both the second and third periods, a feat they've accomplished throughout the entirety of the series.
"These are series games. It's not a one-and-done like a regular season game. You've got to keep rolling them over in a sense and everyone's got to be involved, no let ups at any point," Lee said. "When we have that opportunity to sustain pressure, o-zone time and get to our game, all four lines can really roll the best that we can."

VARLAMOV STARTS AND RESPONDS

Coming into Game 3, there was speculation whether or not Varlamov or Thomas Greiss would start between the pipes. Varlamov ultimately received the starting nod - his 12th of the postseason - after getting pulled after 15:09 of play in Game 2 and three first-period goals. Varlamov bounced back with a strong 26-save effort.
"The maturity of Varly as a pro shows in volumes and especially after losses," Trotz said. "That's the key for being in this league and having success. You can park everything that happened yesterday and reset."
Trotz said that there's a chance Varlamov could start again on Sunday in the second half of a back-to-back.

BRASSARD DRAWS BACK IN THE LINEUP

After being a healthy scratch for the last three games, Brassard returned to the lineup in place of Ross Johnston. Johnston provided the Isles with more physicality and size, whereas in Game 3, the Isles were looking to rev up their offense and utilize Brassard's offensively-inclined flair.
"He's a guy that's a really valuable piece to us," Trotz said. "The other series was different and I needed a different push. I thought the physical play had amped up in that series so we made a switch there. What Brass usually does with us when he gets back in the lineup is make the most of it. I was hoping for that response and today, he provided that."
Brassard played alongside Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Leo Komarov. The winger totaled 11:27 of ice time, fired off two shots on goal, won 75% of his faceoff draws, threw one hit and was plus-one on top of his assist on the game-winner.

BARZAL AND LEE EXTEND POINT STREAKS

Both Barzal and Lee extended their respective point streaks in Game 3. Barzal recorded his third assist in as many games and his seventh assist of the postseason. Through 12 postseason games, the 23-year-old center has 10 points (3G, 7A).
Lee scored his third goal in as many games and his second power-play goal in as many games. In his last eight games, Lee has tallied six goals. Throughout this postseason run of 12 games, Lee has compiled six goals.

NEXT GAME:

The Isles and Flyers return for Game 4 in the second leg of their back-to-back set on Sunday night at 8 p.m. ET at Scotiabank Arena.