3 Takeaways: Islanders Open Back-to-Back with 4-1 Win Over Flyers

The New York Islanders understood the assignment on Monday night.
In need of a regulation win over a Metropolitan Division rival, the Islanders delivered a 4-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers at UBS Arena.
The regulation win closed the gap between the teams from five points to three, with a rematch coming Tuesday at Wells Fargo Center and a third meeting at UBS Arena in eight days. The Islanders currently have seven games in hand on the Flyers as they look to make up ground in the standings.

"Standings are tough to look at, you can look at them one way and be upset, or take it game-by-game," Casey Cizikas said. "That's what we're doing here. Each game is the most important game of the year for us right now and at the end of the season if we keep playing the way we are, if we keep growing as a group, we're going to like where we're sitting."

Brock Nelson had a goal and an assist, while Cizikas, Anthony Beauvillier and Matt Martin (empty-netter) scored for the Islanders. Travis Konecny's 100th career NHL goal was the lone tally for the Flyers. Ilya Sorokin stopped 26 in the win, while Martin Jones stopped 27 in the loss.
Monday's matchup also featured the return of Islanders Head Coach Barry Trotz, who assumed his place on the Islanders bench after missing three games the past two due to COVID-19 protocol and a third due to personal reasons on Jan. 1.
"It felt very strange, it felt like about a year ago I've been in COVID protocol or behind the bench with obviously all that's happened in my life with my family, so it was good to get back," Trotz said. "I have lots of energy, I don't have much of a voice, but I have lots of energy right now."

SOROKIN SUPERB IN WIN:

Ilya Sorokin was superb against the Flyers on Monday night, stopping 26-of-27 shots in the win.
The Islanders netminder, who went 5-0-1 against the Flyers in his rookie season, picked up right where he left off, thwarting a host of quality Philadelphia chances on Monday night.
After stopping eight shots in the first period, the second stanza turned into the Sorokin show. The Russian goalie stretched out to rob Scott Laughton on a two-on-none rush to start the second period, and came up with a stop on a backdoor chance for Laughton later on in the frame. The 26-year-old also robbed Cam Atkinson, the Flyers leading goal scorer, twice in tight to keep what was then a 0-0 score line.
"The story was right there," Trotz said of Sorokin's early second period heroics. "Ilya Sorokin with a couple of outstanding saves. If they score a couple on that, our bench deflates and it didn't. He held in there and then we were able to capitalize on a couple of chances and that turned the game around."

As good as Sorokin was, it was not a perfect night for the Isles netminder. Konecny's long drive caromed off Noah Dobson's shoulder and past Sorokin at 17:12 to cut the Isles lead to 2-1. The goal was Konecny's 100th in the NHL and the lone blemish on Sorokin's night.
Still, Sorokin redeemed himself in the final minute of the period, making a blocker save on a Joel Farabee breakaway and shut the door in the third with six saves with the Islanders protecting a lead. He was bailed out by his post on a James van Riemsdyk try with the Flyers net empty and slid across to rob Farabee again late.
With the win, Sorokin improved to 10-7-5 on the season and 5-1-1 in his last seven starts. He was also named the game's first star.

Video: PHI@NYI: Nelson hesitates before firing wrist shot in

OFFENSE REKINDLED:

The Islanders were confident that Saturday's shutout loss to Washington was a one-off and the team reignited their offense against a leaky Flyers squad - who had given up three-or-more goals in seven-straight heading into Monday.
The Flyers defensive skid reached eight games, while the Islanders got back on track, scoring at least three goals for the sixth time in their last seven games.
islanders 4, Flyers 1
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KINGER'S CALLS
Nelson's Wrister
Cizikas' Deflection
Beauvillier Sweeps Rebound
Martin's Empty-Netter
After a scoreless first period, Nelson opened the scoring at 11:44 of the second period, loading up a wrister, using Rasmus Ristolainen as a screen and beating Martin Jones up high. The goal was Nelson's team-leading 11th of the season.
Less than three minutes later, Cizikas put the Islanders ahead 2-0, deflecting a Robin Salo point shot past Jones for his first goal of the season. Konecny cut into the Islanders' lead before the end of the period, but Beauvillier made it 3-1 at 4:44 of the third period, taking a few swipes at a loose puck before burying home his sixth of the season.
Martin iced the game with an empty-netter with 1:23 to play for his first goal of the season.
"All four lines were going tonight," Beauvillier said. "That's our identity, that's how we have to play every night, that's how we've had success in the past and how we're going to have success moving forward."
The Islanders did make a change to their forward lines ahead of Monday's contest, swapping line assignments for Kieffer Bellows and Josh Bailey. Bailey assisted on Nelson's icebreaker, while Bellows had one shot on goal with three total attempts, though the Islanders coach was unsure about whether he'd keep Bellows in the trio in his postgame remarks.
Trotz was also happy with the work of his Identity Line, highlighting them - as well as the Beauvillier-Nelson-Bailey trio as helping driving the win.
"Obviously the Identity Line has to have an identity and I thought today they did that and that's very important for us."
"Today was one of our most complete games as a line," Cizikas said. "It's something that we can build off going forward into tomorrow and the rest of the year."

PERFECT PK PROVIDES A BOOST:

The Islanders could have been in a precarious spot early on Monday, taking a pair of penalties in the first 10 minutes of the first period.
Not only did the Islanders kill off both minors, they were able to generate shorthanded chances, culminating in a JG Pageau-Zach Parise two-on-one rush that was ultimately denied by Jones.
That set the tone for a big night from the shorthanded unit, who went four-for-four on the evening. While Pageau was far from the only effective killer on Monday - Brock Nelson had a pair of quality disruptions on the Isles' second kill - Pageau nearly scored on a partial shorthanded breakaway in the third period. The speedy center drove down the left wing and cut across the middle, but could not solve Jones.
The Islanders two shorthanded shots outpaced the power play, which only record one shot, albeit on one opportunity.
"The PK showed up again," Cizikas said. "We did a good job of keeping them to the outside and not giving them too much. They had a close opportunity off the first kill there, but other than that we did a really good job and got some big saves when we needed to."
The Isles PK is now 6-for-6 in the team's last two games and 10-for-11 in the past three.

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders and Flyers meet again tomorrow playing a game that was originally scheduled for Nov. 30. Puck drop from Wells Fargo Center is at 7 p.m.