On the second night of a back-to-back, the Philadelphia Flyers fell to the New York Islanders, 5-2. For the third time in the calendar year, the Flyers lost ten straight games. Under the management of Chuck Fletcher, it’s the fifth ten-game losing streak for Philadelphia.
Flyers can’t sustain a 2-1 lead
After falling behind, 1-0, early in the first period, the Flyers battled back to finish the opening twenty minutes, 1-1. Lukas Sedlak potted his second goal of the year, courtesy of a passing play by Ivan Provorov and Kevin Hayes. Provorov notched his 200th career point on the secondary assist.
Just before the halfway point of regulation, Joel Farabee gave the Flyers a 2-1 lead. Farabee collected the puck, deflecting back into play from behind the net, in stride before scoring to regain the lead. He went undetected in the Islanders’ zone, sneaking behind two players on his way to his fifth goal of the season.
Things seemed promising for the Flyers, but then Provorov took a bad penalty. Zach Parise tied the game, 2-2, before the end of the second period on the powerplay.
Islanders dominate the third
Brock Nelson gave the Islanders a 3-2 lead just three minutes into the third period. Just 22 seconds later, Anthony Beauvillier would beat Felix Sandstrom with a wrist shot to double the Islanders’ lead. Parise finished the goal scoring with his second of the night on another powerplay. From an awkward angle, Parise found just enough space, fitting the puck between the crossbar and Sandstrom.
The Flyers’ special teams struggled, going 0/2 on the powerplay and 1/3 on the penalty kill. They currently own the NHL’s worst PP% (14.7%) and the 23rd-ranked PK (75.4%).
Fists started to fly before the end of regulation. Nicolas Deslauriers didn’t take kindly to a hit on Hayes, jumping in on Alexander Romanov. Tony DeAngelo and Oliver Wahlstrom began to exchange punches at a rapid pace, with Wahlstrom getting the better end of the deal.
Tortorella has little to say postgame
John Tortorella had little to say about the loss. Trying to take positives away from each game, Tortorella mentioned that he was proud of the way his team played. He didn’t want to criticize his players, mentioning he was thrilled with some of the things that happened:
“I am not criticizing my hockey team tonight. You guys can write what you want on that. I’m proud of the way the guys played. Other than a few minutes here and there, where we had some breakdowns. I am thrilled about some of the things that went on with our club.”
John Tortorella; 11/26/2022
Up Next
The Flyers will face the Islanders on Tuesday at the Wells Fargo Center. The faceoff is set for 7:30pm.
(AP Photo/John Munson)
