Good Morning, Islanders Country.
So, you think it’s easy beating a team that’s lost 12 games in a row? How about beating the same team three times in nine days?
Well, the Islanders certainly didn’t make it easy on themselves Tuesday night at UBS Arena. The Isles staked the reeling Flyers to a 2-0 lead but rallied to score three straight to take the lead and then took the lead for good on Zach Parise’s third-period goal. More on hard work paying off for Parise in just a bit.
Instant Reaction with the Nassaumen Hockey Podcast
Coming up, the line shake-ups didn’t stay shook for long and Barry wants to see more consistency from “Wahlly.” Plus Keith Yandle breaks the Iron Man record and the Islanders rally from a 2-0 deficit to win in regulation for the first time since a game in Brooklyn. But first, let’s recap last night’s win.
Let’s dive in.
🏒 IN SHORT: Zach Parise broke a 3-3 tie with just over eight minutes left in the third period and Ilya Sorokin made 14 saves to stay unbeaten in 2022 (5-0-0) as the Islanders (15-14-6) edged the Philadelphia Flyers 4-3 at UBS Arena on Tuesday night.
The Flyers (13-22-8) are now winless in 13 games and have lost three times in that stretch to the Islanders who are 8-2-1 in their last 11 games. Mathew Barzal put the Islanders ahead 3-2 early in the second, taking a cross-ice pass from Parise at 5:42. Gerry Mayhew tied the contest at 3 with his second goal of the season 90 seconds into the third period. Martin Jones had 29 saves for Philadelphia.
🔑 KEY MOMENT(s):
🔻 A team winless in 12 games was due to get a break. The Flyers got it 57 seconds into the game when Claude Giroux’s shot from an impossible angle deflected off the inside of Sorokin’s pad for an early 1-0 PHI lead.
🔷 After Justin Braun scored on a deflection off of Andy Greene’s skate, the Islanders found themselves in a 2-0 hole. Noah Dobson scored to cut the deficit in half and then Lee and Barzal were reunited and connected on a 2-on-1 to tie the game. For Lee, it was his 11th goal of the season and first in seven games.
🔶 The Islanders showed patience on the power-play and Parise made a perfect pass from the goal-line to Barzal for the top-shelf goal. For Barzal, it was his first power-play goal of the season to go along with his seven assists with the man advantage.
🔷 The Flyers tied the game 1:30 into the third period on a 4-on-4 goal by Gerry Mayhew when Dobson and Brock Nelson miscommunicated on coverage. Then, at 11:51 of the period, Nelson carried the puck into the zone, dropped a pass to Anthony Beauvillier who fed a charging Parise who rifled the puck past Jones for the game-winning goal. It was Parise's 78th career game-winning goal, trailing only Alex Ovechkin (119) and Jeff Carter (85) among active players.
3 REACTIONS (Parise edition)
❶ HEATING UP: "I take a lot of pride in playing hard every night, sometimes it goes in, sometimes it's a little harder," Parise said. "Hopefully I'll be heating up here in the near future."
❷ STICK WITH IT: “We've all been in that situation where you're playing as hard as you can, as tough as you can, you feel like you're getting shots and chances and it's not going in, it can wear on you,” said Anders Lee. “For him to stick with it, have the right mentality and a great attitude, and work his way through this is what everyone should be doing.”
❸ GETTING REWARDED: "Parise is playing his best hockey of the year and is getting rewarded for it," Barzal said. “Anytime other guys start getting hot, it amps everyone up.”
⏭ NEXT UP: The Islanders host the LA Kings on Thursday night at UBS Arena. It’s a stream-only game with the broadcast on ESPN+. Puck drop is at 7 p.m.
📊 STANDINGS:
📰 NEWS: Following a mix and match Monday practice, Barry Trotz did split up Mathew Barzal and Anders Lee to start the game (the pair had played together for 310:22 five-on-five minutes entering Tuesday).
It didn’t stay that way for long as the lines reverted back after the Isles fell behind 2-0. "You go in with a plan and it just didn't feel like it was happening, so we changed them back," Trotz said. We’ll see if the lines return to ‘normal’ for Thursday’s game against the Kings or if Trotz will continue to tweak.
↕️ CONSISTENTLY INCONSISTENT: Oliver Wahlstrom was a topic of interest after the morning skate as Barry Trotz was asked what he needs to see for the 21-year-old to remain in the lineup. "I’m looking for consistency," Trotz said on Wahlstrom being a healthy scratch last game. "I’m looking for consistency in decisions, consistency in effort, and consistency in detail. I think, for the most part, Wahlly’s effort has been pretty good. More my concern with him is getting dialed in in those other two areas."
Early in the 2nd period, Wahlstrom made the type of mistake in decision-making Trotz spoke about. With the game tied at 2-2, Wahlstrom attempts a no-look backhand at the red-line when trying to get the puck deep. The turnover leads to a scoring chance the other way.
Although it feels different at times on social media, Trotz is still high on Wahlstrom and views him as a major piece moving forward. “He’s a big part of now and our future,” Trotz said. “The more we can continue to teach him the right decision making, the right plays, his skill set will go to the next level.” Wahlstrom finished the game with 14:08 TOI and two shots on goal.
💪 IRON MAN: Flyers defenseman Keith Yandle surpassed Doug Jarvis and set an NHL record for most consecutive games played with his 965th straight on Tuesday night. Yandle, 35 has not missed a game since March 26, 2009, when he was a member of the Phoenix Coyotes. From an Islanders perspective, Billy Harris, played in 576 straight games for the Islanders - starting with the franchise's first-ever game in 1972.
📚 SOUND SMART: Per Eric Hornick in “The Skinny,” the Isles erased a 2-0 lead to win in regulation for the first time since February 6, 2020, vs. Los Angeles at Barclays Center. Ilya Sorokin made the fewest saves by an Islander goalie in a complete-game win since Jaroslav Halak (eight saves on 2/8/2015 at Buffalo). Sorokin is 7-0-1 in his career vs. the Flyers. The only other goalies to start their careers with points in at least eight games against the Flyers are MacKenzie Blackwood (10), Gump Worsley (9), Roger Crozier (8), and Eddie Johnston (8).
🗓 ISLE REMEMBER: Former Islanders and current Dallas Stars head coach, Rick Bowness turned 67 on Tuesday. Bowness became the team’s head coach a day before his 42nd birthday when Mike Milbury resigned on Jan. 24, 1997, and turned the team over to him. Milbury would go on to fire Bowness and return to coaching the Isles on March 11, 1998, not long after a 10-game losing streak.
Here’s a video of Bowness and SportsChannel’s Howie Rose in his first “Behind the Bench” segment 25 years ago.
🔗 Oliver Wahlstrom back in Islanders' lineup following Barry Trotz's timeout lesson by Andrew Gross, Newsday “Oliver Wahlstrom’s benching lasted four periods. Now, Islanders coach Barry Trotz wants to see if this latest lesson sparks some more consistent play from the sharpshooter.”
🔗 Retooling the Islanders For 2022-2023 by Matt O’Leary, Eyes on Isles “Landing both Gaudreau and Chychrun is likely a big ask but just this past offseason we saw Lou Lamoriello shed himself from Andrew Ladd, Nick Leddy, and Johnny Boychuk. Miracles do happen, and I look at this team potentially needing a retool instead of a full-on rebuild.”
And we leave you with this …. 24-year-old Islanders fan Madison has been suffering from kidney failure after having her first kidney replacement at age 19. With rising medical expenses, a GoFundMe was set up to help support the care she is likely to need.
You can donate HERE
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