Islanders Fall 1-0 to Flyers After snapping their seven-game skid last Saturday in a 5-4 shootout win over the Calgary Flames, the New York Islanders [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/game-day/new-york-islanders-philadelphia-flyers-1-0-stan-fischler] were all smiles as they got on their long plane ride back to Long Island on Sunday. Despite just one win on their Western Canada -- and Seattle -- road trip, the Islanders returned home with points in three straight games (1-0-2). "Obviously, going through losing streaks isn't fun," Hudson Fasching [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/features/hudson-fasching-new-york-islanders-2022-23-zach-parise-extension] told The Hockey News. To finally get the win, especially at the end of a road trip, just the timing of it all, felt really good for everybody. "We were pretty excited. The plane ride home was much better." Snapping the losing streak was key for the Islanders to move forward, but a failure to build on the emotional win would have had the Islanders doing the Salsa -- one step forward, one step back. Looking ahead, the Islanders were to host the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday, enjoy Thanksgiving on Thursday before a back-to-back against the Senators in Ottawa, before hosting the Flyers again on Saturday night. Six possible points up for grabs against a Flyers team that was overperforming to start the season with the fourth-most goals for in the Eastern Conference and a Senators team that had been playing a stronger brand of hockey as of late. No game in the NHL is an easy one, regardless of who the opponent is. ISLANDERS BEAT FLYERS 3-2 Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAyNDg3ODg0MDQ3OTgzNjg0/usatsi_21956993.jpg] When the puck dropped on Wednesday night, the Islanders were ready to go against the Flyers in front of the Islanders faithful for Cal Clutterbuck's 1,000th game. Anders Lee, who has found his game over the last little bit here, tallied the opening goal less than two minutes into the game. Brock Nelson doubled the lead with under seven minutes to play in the second on a nifty deflection. The Islanders did allow a goal just over a minute later and headed into the third period up 2-1. It was a massive test for New York, who seemingly had blown every lead on home ice this season. Getting that next goal would be critical in locking down the lead, and they did as Nelson deposited his second of the game after an on-the-money pass from Pierre Engvall. The Islanders did allow another goal late in the third, but they found a way to hold on to earn a second-straight win, extending their point streak to a modest four games (2-0-2) with a 3-2 win [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/latest-news/islanders-win-2nd-straight-defeat-flyers-3-2]. A major standout from the win was that the Islanders were much more disciplined than they had been, awarding the Flyers just one power-play chance, which they killed off. Netminder Ilya Sorokin put forth one of his better starts of the season, turning aside 32 of 34 shots. "I wanted to win for Clutter. It's 1,000 games. It's amazing. I'd [keel over] if I played 1,000 games,' Sorokin said. ISLANDERS BEAT SENATORS 5-3 Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAyNDg4MDQwMDA4OTgzNjIw/usatsi_21965674.jpg] Battling the Senators Friday night wouldn't be a walk in the park, as Ottawa had won their last three games. Brady Tkachuk and Co were playing in their first game since their Global Series finale on Saturday, so while well-rested, the Islanders probably had an advantage. Whatever advantage the Islanders may have had entering the game was quickly gone under four minutes in. With Adam Pelech and Sebastian Aho leaving the games with injuries, the Islanders four defensemen had to battle, which they did in a 5-3 wacky hockey game. After allowing the first goal halfway through the first period, Kyle Palmieri scored a huge goal to tie the game at 1-1 before the end of the first. That gave the Islanders momentum to start the second, scoring three goals before the 10-minute mark. First, it was Oliver Wahlstrom via a deflection before Mathew Barzal and Anders Lee scored six seconds apart, tying a franchise record for the fastest two goals in team history. But then the Senators went to work, scoring two goals in 47 seconds due to defensive-zone breakdowns, which wasn't a shock given the fatigue by the defense. Entering the third up 4-3, this was another test for New York. For a second straight game, the Islanders were able to pad their lead in the third, with Noah Dobson's slapshot deflecting off Simon Holmstrom's skate and in as the Islanders won 5-3 [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/game-day/new-york-islanders-ottawa-senators-5-3-palmieri-wahlstrom-barzal-lee-holmstrom]. Make it five straight games with a point (3-0-2). Noah Dobson played a career-high 31:05, with Alexander Romanov passing his career-high with 30:02 minutes of action. With so many question marks on the backend, the Islanders still had a game to play Saturday night, the second of a back-to-back with energy levels rather low. ISLANDERS FALL 1-0 TO FLYERS IN SHOOTOUT Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAyNDg4NjQ5MzU3NDY4Njg0/usatsi_21975219.jpg] The Islanders had to swallow a tough pill Saturday morning, as top defenseman Adam Pelech landed on Long Term Injured Reserve, as he'll be out until at least Dec. 19 with what is believed to be a wrist injury. Sebastian Aho is still being evaluated, with Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/game-day/new-york-islanders-adam-pelech-matt-martin] stating that he didn't believe Aho would be out as long as Pelech. Matt Martin, who had missed the last four games, was placed on Injured Reserve, creating a roster spot for the Islanders to claim LHD Mike Reilly off waivers from the Florida Panthers. With Reilly unable to join the Islanders in time for a puck drop, Grant Hutton was recalled from Bridgeport and played alongside Samuel Bolduc as the Islanders' bottom-pairing. Noah Dobson played on his off-side alongside Scott Mayfield. The Islanders got out to a booming start, outshooting the Flyers 6-0 in the opening few minutes. But the Flyers then got in on the forecheck and dominated the remainder of the game. "We struggled in the first three or four minutes," Flyers head coach John Tortorella said. "I don't think anyone really wanted the puck, it looked like. We knew they were banged up on the blue line. Their defense had played a lot of minutes yesterday. So, we were just trying to get it in and start our forecheck. Took us three or four minutes to get there, but once we did, I don't think we looked back." Both teams were on the second of a back-to-back, but as Tortorella mentioned, the Islanders backend was in shambles, and it certainly led to their struggles to get the puck up the ice. The chances were there, but the Islanders failed to beat Flyers backup Sam Ersson, who earned his second-career shutout, owning a 2.06 Expected Goals Against through the 65-minute game. He went save for save with Sorokin, who earned his 18th shutout of his career with an xGA of 3.70. The game was scoreless through regulation, and a back-and-forth overtime in which the Islanders missed prime chances brought no closure as the game headed to a shootout. The Islanders four shooters -- Bo Horvat, Mathew Barzal, Oliver Wahlstrom, and Kyle Palmieri -- failed to score, while Tyson Foerster scored the winner in the bottom of the fourth round as the Islanders fell 1-0. New York extended their point streak to six games (3-0-3). "I thought the effort was outstanding," New York coach Lane Lambert said. "I'm proud of our team. We've played a lot of hockey lately, traveled a lot lately, including last night. The four defensemen that played last night (5-3 win at Ottawa Senators) played a ton of minutes. And I thought it wasn't necessarily pretty at times. But I thought we gutted it out, and we battled, and I give our team full marks." TAKEAWAYS The final two games, in which the Islanders had to battle, showed an incredible level of resiliency. Yes, Saturday night's game was ugly, with the passing rather horrid and a ton of failed play attempts, but getting a point on the second of a back-to-back, essentially running four defensemen in two straight games, is a valuable point. Not to mention, Sorokin seems back, stealing a point, which is something he hadn't been doing as of late, especially not at the rate he did a year ago when he was a Vezina finalist. Should Sorokin have to stand on his head every game? No, but this team would always need him to steal points if they were going to make the playoffs again. Noah Dobson was a major standout this week, logging 59:46 total minutes over the last two games. Another standout was the Islanders third line of Anders Lee-Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Oliver Wahlstrom, who seemed to get things in order. Over the last three games, Lee scored twice, with Wahlstrom tallying a goal and an assist at even strength. Pageau continues to be snakebitten with chance after chance to score his first of the season. That threesome, in 25:46 minutes this week, outscored their opponents 3-0, outshooting them 18-12. This was the final line that Lane Lambert needed to figure things out, so that's a sure positive. The Islanders, who are tied for third place in the Metropolitan Division with 22 points, now hit the road for three games, playing the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday, the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday, and the Florida Panthers on Saturday.
