On Long Island, the Philadelphia Flyers (3-2-0) dropped their first decision to a fellow NHL Metropolitan Division opponent in the 2024-2025 Preseason.
Darryl Williams served as the bench boss at the UBS Arena against the New York Islanders (3-2-0). Last Thursday, Rocky Thompson had the honor when these two teams first met. However, the context between those games is drastically different.
“You look at the lineup that we’re playing with against the Islanders, and their lines; they have put in, what I think, they’re going to try to start with. We’re going to see a good lineup tonight, which is good, and it’ll be a great test for our guys, and we’ll be able to see what our guys can do.” – Darryl Williams; 9/30/2024
When these teams first clashed, the Flyers dressed a lineup featuring more of their top talent. This time, the Islanders were closer to their opening night lineup. However, New York took this exhibition by an eyelash.
First Period
Ivan Fedotov went head-to-head against Jakub Škarek. Alexei Kolosov and Marcus Högberg served the backup roles.
The Islanders paced the period, beginning with early pressure on Fedotov. Erik Johnson, who had the only contested goal last week at the Wells Fargo Center between these clubs, took a shot on goal from the blue line and generated a one-timer that missed, accounting for the first extended possession from Philadelphia in the offensive zone.
Scott Laughton served two minutes for hooking, and Fedotov had to make a dynamic save with help from Adam Ginning to disrupt Anthony Duclair. Egor Zamula and Noah Cates helped in the defensive zone, starting the Flyers with a penalty kill.
Following a successful penalty kill, Philadelphia went on their first powerplay with Julien Gauthier in the box. The Flyers could not gain entry into the offensive zone on the man advantage. Then, Emil Andrae helped New York kill the penalty by serving two minutes for interference. However, the Islanders could not pressure Fedotov on their abbreviated advantage.
Anthony Richard served two minutes for hooking, and Andrae made up for his previous mistake with a strong penalty kill. Cates used his strong defensive instincts to help clear the defensive zone, and once Richard was loose from the box, he helped Ryan Poehling.
Olle Lycksell added another pair of penalty minutes, serving two minutes for tripping. Unfortunately, the extra advantages offered to New York put Philadelphia behind. Mathew Barzal snapped the puck past Fedotov behind traffic, 1-0, with 1:17 remaining.
Second Period
The Flyers got themselves on the scoreboard via the powerplay, too. Scott Mayfield went to the box, and Philadelphia benefited from a lucky bounce. Richard tried to go to the crease with the puck, but a deflection off of Alexander Romonov tied the game, 1-1, with 17:56 remaining in the period.
A few minutes later, the Flyers broke down in the defensive zone, and Casey Cizikas had a close, open look to Kyle MacLean for the backhand tip, 2-1, with 14:17 remaining in the period. When Philadelphia broke onto the scoreboard, they uncovered substandard habits as the Islanders pulled away.
Sawyer Boulton served two minutes for hooking. That dug a deeper hole for the Flyers when Anders Lee tipped the puck past Fedotov on a powerplay rip from the point by Mike Reilly, 3-1, with 8:56 remaining in the period. Overall, Philadelphia finished 3/5 on the penalty kill (60%).
“We got into trouble, and it bit us on the last one; they were able to put that in and get the lead, but I thought we responded very well. We played hard right to the very end, and they made a nice play at the end to get the goal.” – Darryl Williams; 9/30/2024
Kolosov replaced Fedotov once New York led by two. Škarek would remain between the pipes for the Islanders throughout the game.
Brendan Furry cashed in due to his play in the greasy, dirty areas. Andrae aimed at goal, and Furry, in traffic, tipped the puck past Škarek, 3-2, with 5:47 remaining in the period.
Third Period
Mayfield visited the box in the second, and he became more familiar in the third. He cost the Islanders two goals. Rasmus Ristolainen snapped the puck past Škarek, 3-3, with 17:33 remaining in regulation. Joel Farabee set the assist, but credit goes to Ristolainen for staying with a deflected puck in disrupted motion. The Flyers finished 2/3 on the powerplay (66%).
Since he replaced Fedotov, Kolosov had to ward off shots from Barzal and Brock Nelson. He showed how fast and precise his glove was, snagging a few pucks out of the air. At the opposite end, Adam Pelech saved Škarek in a play where the goaltender was out of the crease, and Boulton was skating in to disrupt and perhaps score.
“I thought he [Kolosov] played very well. He saw the puck well, he moved very well, and it was unfortunate at the end, but I thought he played very well.” – Darryl Williams; 9/30/2024
New York began to press late in the period, but Johnson and Andrae communicated beautifully to help alleviate an odd-man rush for Kolosov. The defensive recovery helped disrupt Cizikas and MacLean from doubling up on scoring plays. At the opposite end, Furry pushed a brief two-on-one with Ginning, but Škarek kept the game knotted on the scoreboard.
“I really liked playing with him [Johnson]. You can see, he’s really good; he’s been playing in this league for a while and you can see it out on the plays. He just makes smart plays and simple plays. It’s nice to play with a guy like that.” – Emil Andrae; 9/30/2024
Then, with 0:51 remaining, Mayfield beat Ginning with a pass to Kyle Palmieri, who waited for Kolosov to make the first move before scoring, 4-3. The veteran move at the crease outsmarted Kolosov.
Overall, Philadelphia was chasing New York in scoring chances and shots, then fell apart because of undisciplined play in the first half of the game. In many other ways, such as faceoff success, converting powerplay opportunities, and ramping up the physicality, including shot blocking, the Flyers were better than expected against an Islanders lineup that mostly resembled their opening night.
Next, Philadelphia travels to the TD Garden to battle the Boston Bruins at 7pm.
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