PHILADELPHIA, Pa- Hoping to continue their winning streak, the Philadelphia Flyers hosted the New York Islanders to the Wells Fargo Center ice on Thursday night.
With a four day break since their last contest, the Flyers team welcomed back two players to the roster. Making their way back into the lineup after suffering injuries last month, Scott Laughton and Nicklas Grossmann laced up their skates.
Getting the nod in between the pipes stood Steve Mason facing the New York Islanders, Jaroslav Halak.
Dropping the gloves just over two minutes into the period, Flyers forward Ryan White and Islanders forward Matt Martin squared off.
Struggling to get the puck out of their zone, the Islanders turn the puck over to Vincent Lecavalier at the blue line. Beginning the rush, Lecavalier sent the puck to the net. Sending the puck wide, the forward slid the puck across ice to Nick Schultz in front of the net.
Scoring his second goal of the season, Schultz lit the lamp for Philadelphia.
With ample opportunities for both squads, the Flyers remained on top at the end of the first period.
Guilty of delaying the game, Mark Streit looked on as the Islanders took the first power play advantage of the game. Unable to produce, the game remained in Philadelphia’s favor.
Half way through the second period, New York lead the Flyers in 17 shots to 6.
Finding the puck on his stick, Chris VandeVelde skated in on Halak. Netting in his 8th goal of the season, VandeVelde furthered the Flyers lead 2-0.
With a play beginning in New Yorks’ zone, Islanders’ defenseman Johnny Boychuck took a puck to the face. Covering his face immediately, Boychuck was escorted off the ice and headed to the locker room.
Rushing into the Flyers zone, Mikhail Grabovski had the puck on his stick. Slipping the puck past Mason, Grabovski scored his 8th goal of the season, getting the Islanders on board.
Tying the contest with less than three minutes remaining in the period, Cal Clutterbuck sent the puck to the back of the net.
At the end of forty minutes, the game remained tied at 2.
Boychuck returned to the Islanders bench for the third period.
Earning their first power play advantage early in the period with John Tavares in the box, the Flyers were sent to work. Struggling to control the puck, the orange and black did not succeed.
As the period came to a close, overtime was needed in Philadelphia to decide a victor.
With little opportunities in the five minute overtime, the game came down to a skills competition.
Starting the shootout was Islanders’ Frans Nielsen. Skating in on Mason, Nielsen sent the puck to the back of the net. Jakub Voracek took the ice for the Flyers, but was denied.
Going into the third round of shooting, Islanders Captain John Tavares was not successful. Hoping to get the Flyers on board, Wayne Simmonds took his place. Sending the puck pass Halak, Simmonds scored.
After six rounds completed, Clutterbuck was up for the Islanders. Earning the lead, Clutterbuck scored for his club. Sean Couturier made his way to center ice. With the game on stick, Couturier was denied by Halak.
The Philadelphia Flyers dropped to the New York Islanders 3-2 and ended their four game winning streak.
“I’m not gonna sit here and blame it on the layoff,” said Flyers head coach Craig Berube. “We let a point slip away … We get a 2-0 lead. We got to pick our game up and we didn’t.” He continued, “We didn’t play a very good game with the puck.”
After stopping 27 out of 29 shots against him, Steve Mason said, “We left the extra point out there. Obviously we kind of shot ourselves in the foot at the end of the second period there giving up two goals just off of our own mistakes.” The goaltender continued, “If we could get out of that period 2-0 who knows what the outcome would be. So definitely I think we definitely left a point out there.”
The Flyers and Islanders will meet on April 7th at the Wells Fargo Center.
During the Flyers and Islanders action, the Philadelphia Flyers Organization announced the return of defenseman Kimmo Timonen. Timonen will return to skating on Friday after diagnosed with blood clots over the offseason.
“It’s been a long process. I kept the hope alive and kept working hard,” Timonen said. “I haven’t skated in 8 months. We’ll see when I step on the ice tomorrow to skate. We’ll see how I feel.” There is no set timeline on defenseman’s return to game action.
Following Timonen’s announcement of returning to skating, Flyers General Manager Ron Hextall stated, “It’s pretty evident how much we missed Kimmo. It’s not only one the ice, it’s off the ice too. It’s the intangibles.”
As the weekend approaches, the Flyers are set to begin a four game road trip. Starting in the Nation’s capital on Sunday afternoon, facing off against the Washington Capitals, the orange and black return to the Wells Fargo Center on February 17th against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Puck drop between the Philadelphia Flyers and the Washington Capitals is set for 3 p.m.
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