Rapid Reaction: Islanders Hand Flyers 13th Straight Loss, 4-3 Yet Again

ELMONT— The New York Islanders pushed the Philadelphia Flyers’ losing streak to 13 games as they defeated their divisional rivals by a score of 4-3 on Tuesday night. With the win and the New Jersey Devils 5-1 loss to the Dallas Stars the Islanders hopped them in the Metropolitan Division standings and now sit alone in sixth with a 15-14-6 record, an 8-7-3 record at UBS Arena.

How it Happened

New York Islanders forward Zach Parise scored the eventual game-winning goal at 11:51 of the third period as his one-timer beat Philadelphia Flyers Martin Jones over the glove for his second point of the contest. Anthony Beauvillier and Brock Nelson were credited with the assists on Parise’s third of the season.

Less than a minute into the opening frame, Philadelphia Flyers captain Claude Giroux banked a shot off New York Islanders netminder Ilya Sorokin and in from the left corner. Oskar Lindblom and Travis Sanhiem were credited with the assists on Giroux’s 15th goal of the season.

The Flyers made it 2-0 as a point shot by Justin Braun deflected off of Islanders defenseman Andy Greene and in for his third of the season. Cam Atkinson was credited with the lone assist at 12:48 of the first period.

Noah Dobson got the Islanders on the board as his wrist shot from the point beat Jones low glove-side for his sixth of the season. Zdeno Chara and Jean-Gabriel Pageau were credited with the assists at 13:37 of the first period.

Anders Lee tied the contest at two apiece as he finishes off a 2 on 1 with Mat Barzal as he beat Jones high blocker-side after a strong saucer pass. Barzal and Josh Bailey were credited with the assists on Lee’s 11th at 18:15 of the first period.

Mat Barzal scored on the power play to give the Islanders a 3-2 lead at 5:42 of the second period. A strong feed by Zach Parise from below the goal line found Barzal all-alone. Parise and Brock Nelson were credited with the assists on Barzal’s eighth of the season.

The Flyers tied the contest at three less than two minutes into the third period as Gerry Mayhew made a strong move around Dobson before he beat Sorokin over the blocker for his second of the season. Scott Laughton and Sanheim were credited with the assists at 1:30 of the third period.

Peak Performance From Parise

New York Islanders forward Zach Parise put together a strong performance in Tuesday’s win as he notched a goal and an assist. His vision was on display all night long and picked up the primary assist on Mat Barzal’s power-play goal just under six minutes into the second period.

His goal came off a one-time feed from Beauvilier in the slot, a goal that went down as the eventual game-winner.

Three of Parise’s last four points have given the Islanders a lead.

Parise had a few chances of his own, as he recorded four shots in the contest.

Even after a scary incident in the second period in which a Noah Dobson point-shot deflected and caught him up high, Parise went right back to the dirty area.

Parise was awarded the first star of the contest.

Off Night For Sorokin

From the drop of the puck on Tuesday night, Ilya Sorokin did not look sharp. The first goal of the contest for the Philadelphia Flyers was one that Sorokin would want back as he got caught napping.

Throughout the contest, Sorokin struggled to control his rebounds and that put his defense in tough spots.

Matt Martin was forced to take a hooking penalty to stop what would have been the go-ahead marker early in the third period.

Despite a few bad bounces, the Islanders defense did what they could to keep the Flyers to the outside for the majority of the contest. Sorokin was able to just focus on making the save, rather than having to bail his team out.

Sorokin has been on a tear his last handful of games and sometimes you need your defense to bail you out at times.

He stopped 13 of 17 in the victory.

Keith Yandle Makes History

Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Keith Yandle played in his 965th consecutive NHL game, passing Seth Jarvis to take sole possession of the longest “Iron Man” streak in NHL history.

Before the start of the 2020-21 season, it appeared that Yandle would be a healthy scratch for the Florida Panthers, but he worked his way into the starting lineup and did not miss a game.

And despite two years of COVID-19, more so this year in the NHL than last, Yandle went unscathed to keep his consecutive games record alive.
Yandle has played for the Arizona Coyotes (558 GP), New York Rangers (103 GP), Florida Panthers (371 GP), and the Philadelphia Flyers (43 GP) over his 16-year NHL career. His streak did not start until his third NHL season.

Postgame Quotes: Anders Lee, Mathew Barzal, Zach Parise, Noah Dobson, and Barry Trotz 

“When the game starts like that with a couple of bounces that are going against us like that, you got to stick with it, settle in and I think we did exactly that. Dobber got the boys going and then Barzy made a great play over to me to finish the period. We just kind of stuck with it, one of those games where you find yourself down a couple goals for no reason other than a little bit of luck.” —Anders Lee

“I think he’s playing his best hockey of the year so far and he’s getting rewarded. Anytime other guys start getting hot it helps everybody out.” —Mathew Barzal on the play of Zach Parise

It feels great to contribute. Most importantly we got the two points that we needed to get for us to keep climbing. And, you know, a good response from a couple of early goals and a couple of unfortunate bounces. But you know, I thought our powerplay delivered. That’s a spot that we’ve needed to be a little better in and we got a couple on it tonight.” —Zach Parise

“It was a great response. I think you never want to start the game down too but we were composed on the bench, went out and got one, got some momentum off that and went into the second all tied so it was a good response.” — Noah Dobson on coming back from 2-0 down in the first period

“He’s been in the league a little bit now, but he’s been a pro being in the KHL and what have you. And I’m sure that’s not the first goal that went in that way. He’s mentally really strong as a goaltender I didn’t really have any issues. He’s played very, very well. And I think he can handle a little adversity that hits. We have a lot of trust in him. I think he’s perfect goaltender.” — Barry Trotz on his netminder Ilya Sorokin shaking off a rough start.

Game Notes: 

New York Islanders head coach Barry Trotz split up Anders Lee and Mathew Barzal to start the game, as Lee skated alongside Brock Nelson and Kieffer Bellows, with Anthony Beauvillier served as the top-line left-winger.

After being a healthy scratch on Saturday night, Oliver Wahlstrom was back in the lineup, in his normal spot alongside Jean-Gabriel Pageau on the third line.

Austin Czarnik, Ross Johnston, and Sebastian Aho were healthy scratches for Tuesday’s contest.

Kyle Palmieri was back on the practice ice Tuesday morning. He is currently still on IR. Ryan Pulock (LTIR) was not and has not skated with his teammates since his injury back in mid-November.

Up Next: The New York Islanders will host the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday, Jan. 27 at UBS Arena.