Takeaways: Islanders Fall to Flyers 4-3 in Shootout

The New York Islanders extended their point streak to five games on Saturday, but fell 4-3 in a shootout to the Philadelphia Flyers at Xfinity Mobile Arena.

Matvei Michkov scored the game-deciding goal in the third round of the shootout to snap the Isles winning streak. New York is 4-0-1 in its last five games.

Simon Holmstrom (SHG), Anthony Duclair and Max Tsyplakov scored for the Islanders, while the Flyers got a three-point game from Trevor Zegras (2G, 1A) and a two-point day (1G, 1A) from Christian Dvorak.

Ilya Sorokin stopped 23 of 26 in the loss, while Samuel Ersson stopped 23 of 26 in the win.

TAKEAWAYS

- Marshall Warren made his NHL debut on Saturday afternoon, recording a pair of assists in 11:20 TOI on a pairing with Tony DeAngelo. Warren recorded his first NHL point on Saturday with a primary assist on Duclair’s second period tally. Warren picked up the puck down low and sent it through the middle of the ice to Duclair for the tap-in. Warren picked up his second assist in the third period, as his point shot was redirected by Tsyplakov to give the Isles a 3-2 lead. Team result aside, it was a dream debut for the Laurel Hollow native who had plenty of friends and family in attendance.

“It's pretty emotional,” Warren said. “A lot of hard work. Would have loved to get the win there, but it's a really cool experience, and one I'll remember for a lifetime.”

Warren said he felt comfortable with the pace of the game and played with confidence. Head Coach Patrick Roy felt similarly.

- The Islanders built an early 2-0 lead, led 3-2 in the third period and did not trail in regulation, but couldn’t close out the Flyers on Saturday like they did against Edmonton and San Jose. Holmstrom said he felt maybe the team “turned it down” as the Flyers were making a push – and there’s a lesson in there for the Isles.

“You got to play 60 minutes like we did against Detroit,” Holmstrom said. “Can't really turn it off against any team in this league. We just have to keep building.”

- Holmstrom was back to his sneaky shorthanded ways on Saturday, scoring a shorty to give the Isles a 1-0 lead. Holmstrom picked Owen Tippett’s pocket in the defensive zone and rushed up the ice on a two-on-one rush with JG Pageau. Holmstrom, who scored five shorthanded goals in 2023-24, showcased his shot, beating Ersson clean from the circle high blocker. The goal extended Holmstrom’s point streak to three games (2G, 2A).

The Islanders nearly had a second shorthanded goal in the second period, with Pageau and Holmstrom working the puck to Adam Pelech, who clanked the crossbar. Ultimately the shorthanded unit couldn’t hold off the Flyers, as Zegras’ second goal – tied the score in the third. The Isles PK went 2-for-3 on the afternoon.

- After allowing two goals on the first five Islanders shots, Ersson stepped up for the Flyers, making a series of game-saving saves late. Ersson robbed Jonathan Drouin on a two-on-one rush late in the third and then again on Bo Horvat in OT. That was the difference.

- Both Flyers even-strength goals came on defensive breakdowns in the Isles zone. Dvorak found his way behind Casey Cizikas by cutting across the low slot for a quick tap in on a Zegras pass. Dvorak returned the favor in the third period, drawing Warren and DeAngelo leaving Zegras alone in front of the net. The Isles didn’t allow the Flyers to have sustained offensive zone time or a plethora of chances. Natural Stat Trick had the Flyers at seven high-danger chances at five-on-five, but Philadelphia made the most of them.

- Emil Heineman’s five-game point streak came to an end, as did Horvat and Mathew Barzal’s four-game runs.

- The Islanders started OT with Barzal, Horvat and Matthew Schaefer.

- Scott Mayfield recorded the Islanders first fight of the season, dropping the gloves with Garnet Hathaway.

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders take on the Boston Bruins on Tuesday night at 7:15 p.m.