The New York Islanders took care of business Saturday night, defeating the Philadelphia Flyers 4-0 to get back into a wild-card spot.
The New York Islanders took care of business Saturday night, defeating the Philadelphia Flyers 4-0 to get back into a wild-card spot.
ELMONT, NY -- With the Pittsburgh Penguins putting on the pressure with a Saturday matinee win, the New York Islanders took care of business against the Philadelphia Flyers, beating them 4-0, to stay in a wild-card spot with three games to go.
With the Florida Panthers beating the Washington Capitals in regulation, they hold down the top wild-card spot, while the Islanders are behind them due to the tiebreaker.
LINES:
Anders Lee-Bo Horvat-Simon Holmstrom
Pierre Engvall-Brock Nelson-Kyle Palmieri
Zach Parise-Jean-Gabriel Pageau-Hudson Fasching
Matt Martin-Casey Cizikas-Cal Clutterbuck
Adam Pelech-Scott Mayfield
Sebastian Aho-Ryan Pulock
Samuel Bolduc-Noah Dobson
Ilya Sorokin
Semyon Varlamov
RAPID RECAP:
Unlike Thursday, the New York Islanders did not have it early against the Philadelphia Flyers. They had offensive chances early but struggled to break the puck out of their own zone, with Ilya Sorokin coming up large.
Sorokin stopped all 15 shots that came his way in the first.
The Islanders did get on the board first courtesy of Scott Mayfield, whose point shot deflected off a Flyer and in at 14:19 of the first period.
His sixth of the season, assisted by Simon Holmstrom and Bo Horvat, set a new career high.
With the primary assist, Holmstrom notched his first assist in 46 games. His last assist came back on Nov. 25 in a 3-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The Islanders doubled their lead at 7:50 of the second as Brock Nelson finished off a strong feed from Noah Dobson for his 34th of the season.
The Islanders thought they scored on the power play, but after review, Zach Parise's goal was denied due to a high stick.
Samuel Bolduc took matters into his own hands to get that waived-off goal back as he sniped Hart from inside the left circle for his second of the season at 15:06 of the second.
“I mean, it's always good, especially at home," Bolduc told THN following the win. "When you get the crowd behind you, it's really an amazing feeling.”
Horvat and Holmstrom were credited with the assists, each with two on the night.
"I think we were just due," Horvat said postgame. I mean, we've had so many looks over the past however many games, and it was going in for us.
"We've been doing a lot of the good things, and it's finally nice to get rewarded for it."
The Islanders did not allow much on Sorokin, just four shots, which he saved to keep the Flyers off the board.
Matt Martin missed his line's final three shifts of the second but returned for the third.
In the third, Casey Cizikas blocked a shot off his left leg while on the penalty kill.
After making his way up and down the tunnel, he eventually came back to the bench, as the Islanders dodged a bullet.
"He’s a warrior. We know that," Islanders head coach Lane Lambert said postgame. "It was a huge block at a pivotal time in the game for us. So he does what he does and continues to do that.”
Lambert did not have an update on Cizikas's status, but he did finish the game.
Hudson Fasching scored with 1:39 to play as he finished off a two-on-one feed from Jean-Gabriel Pageau for his eighth of the season to give New York a 4-0 lead.
Dobson notched his second assist of the night.
The Islanders played rather defensively in the third to close things out.
Sorokin notched his league-leading sixth shutout of the season as he stopped all 27 shots that came his way.
Following the game, Horvat was asked by Shannon Hogan of MSGSN asked Horvat how this playoff push has been with the fans behind them:
"It's been unbelievable. A lot better than Vancouver, I'll tell you that for free."
WHAT'S NEXT: The New York Islanders are in Washington to face the Capitals Monday night at 7 PM ET.