Flyers recover to defeat Islanders in shootout

ELMONT, N.Y. -- The Philadelphia Flyers recovered from blowing a three-goal lead and got their fourth win in five games, defeating the New York Islanders 4-3 in the shootout at UBS Arena on Friday.

Tyson Foerster, Sean Couturier and Trevor Zegras scored for the Flyers (13-7-3). Samuel Ersson made 28 saves, and Zegras and Travis Konecny scored in the shootout.

“After a good start, getting to a lead, and then, just unfortunate,” Philadelphia defenseman Travis Sanheim said. “They had a couple of plays that happened that allowed them to get some momentum and get back in it, and they took advantage of it. And then just a resilient effort to stay with it and not fall apart. And Ersson kept us in it.

“Big kill, by the penalty kill with six minutes left to kill off a four-minute penalty, and then Zegras does what he does in the shootout, and Konecny scores as well. So it was a good effort. And I'll take the two points.”

Matthew Schaefer had a goal and an assist, and Emil Heineman and Anders Lee also scored for the Islanders (13-9-3). David Rittich made 18 saves.

“I thought we played a really good game,” New York coach Patrick Roy said. “I mean, from the start to the end, except for those two turnovers. … If we didn't turn over those pucks, it would have been an excellent performance. Unfortunately, they're part of the game. But it was nice to score on the power play. It was nice to score three goals. It was nice to have the chances that we had, and especially in overtime.”

The Flyers took a 2-0 lead in the first period with two goals in 22 seconds. Foerster scored at 8:30 with a wrist shot from above the right hash marks, and Couturier extended the lead by putting a shot inside the right post from the left face-off circle after picking off a Tony DeAngelo pass.

“I’m feeling good,” Couturier said. “I’m just trying to be reliable, be in the right position, and shoot the puck more.”

Zegras pushed it to 3-0 on the power play at 1:55 of the second period. His centering pass attempt went in off the skate of New York defenseman Ryan Pulock.

Heineman cut the deficit to 3-1 at 5:42 with a wrist shot from the slot. Islanders forward Kyle Palmieri, who was on his way off the ice due to a lower-body injury, stripped the puck from Emil Andrae in the Flyers zone and backhanded it into the middle, where Jonathan Drouin set up Heineman with a drop pass.

Palmieri left at 5:38 after getting tangled with Flyers defenseman Jamie Drysdale along the end boards and went down to the ice holding his left leg. Roy said Palmieri will meet with team doctors Saturday but had no further update.

“He's one of the toughest players I've played with,” Lee, the New York captain, said of Palmieri. “It takes a lot for him to be forced to stay on the ice a little bit longer and be keeled over. It was a gutsy play by him to battle through that pain, and he didn't just take the puck. He got it and had some poise with it, too. Very impressed with ‘Palms’ and no surprise, after playing with him this long, to see his toughness shine.”

Schaefer made it 3-2 at 8:11 during a delayed penalty, scoring with a wrist shot from the left circle to the far side.

Lee was then credited with a power-play goal that tied it 3-3 at 19:13. Maxim Shabanov’s deflection of a Schaefer point shot glanced off Lee and in.

“We needed that,” Lee said. “It was a big power-play to tie that game. And I thought when we were bringing the puck to the net tonight, we were creating a couple pokes, pucks that were really close, or pipes or whatever, but that's the game. But when we're attacking and bringing that thing in, I like our unit.”

Heineman hit the crossbar from the left circle at 6:44 of the third period.

Ersson slid to his left to deny Calum Ritchie’s shot from the right hash marks at 13:17 to keep the game tied.

The Islanders then failed to score on a four-minute power play after Matvei Michkov was given a double minor for high-sticking Ritchie at 13:20.

“We were up 3-0. The second was a little bit … there were some penalties and a couple of unfortunate plays,” Flyers coach Rick Tocchet said. “But, we hung in there. It was a little bit ugly. But give the guys credit for scratching and clawing. That’s a big two points for us.”

NOTES: Schaefer became the first teenage defenseman in NHL history to score eight goals through his first 25 career games. Bobby Orr scored seven in his first 25 in 1966-67. Schaefer also became the third 18-year-old defenseman to score five goals in a calendar month, joining Phil Housley (seven in January 1983) and Orr (five in November 1966). … Islanders defenseman Travis Mitchell played 9:05 in his NHL debut. … Foerster has scored five goals in his past five games.