GIF Rewind: Flyers claw back to earn a point in shootout loss to Isles

The Philadelphia Flyers needed two points on Long Island in the midst of a massive week. They already lost in a shootout to the Islanders on Saturday before splitting the home-and-home with the Bruins earlier this week.

On Thursday night, the Flyers fell in a shootout once again. They got one point to stay somewhat afloat, but really needed the extra one.

The Flyers fell into a 2-0 first-period hold but clawed back into it. Nicolas Aube-Kubel scored in the first period and Jakub Voracek scored in the second period to get it tied up at two. They couldn’t find the back of the net again, however.

First period

It was a back-and-forth start to the game with each team feeling each other out. However, that quickly changed about six minutes into the game.

After a faceoff win, Ivan Provorov‘s shot was blocked into the slot. The Islanders came down the other end of the ice and opened the scoring.

Then, just over a minute later, Provorov fell in the corner and the Islanders took advantage. Jordan Eberle was alone in front and beat Hart to give the Islanders a 2-0 lead.

Giving up goals in quick succession is something that the Flyers were victims of a lot in March and it’s not great to see here in April. However, it would turn around.

Just 14 seconds after the second goal, Samuel Morin was called for a penalty.

He was given a five-minute major and game misconduct for the hit. That gave the Islanders a five-minute power play.

Sam Morin given five-minute major and game misconduct for boarding

Surprisingly, the Flyers had the better of the scoring chances during those five minutes. The penalty kill did an admirable job for the majority of the five minutes.

That kill seemed to give the Flyers some momentum. They pushed back a bit and Ilya Sorokin decided to help them out a bit.

Nicolas Aube-Kubel came into the zone and fired a shot that was going to miss the net, but it deflected off of Sorokin and into the net.

That got the Flyers on the board and gave them some life.

Joel Farabee had a great chance to tie the game in front, but his backhand shot hit the post.

Still, it was a nice move by Farabee in front to dig the puck out.

The Flyers were much better in the latter half of the period than in the first 10 minutes, but they trailed 2-1 after the first period.

Second period

The Flyers kept it up in the second period. They had the better of the chances and controlled play in the middle frame.

Claude Giroux‘s line –– the second line? third line? –– had a strong shift with the second pair. Both Travis Sanheim and Robert Hagg jumped up into the play to keep it alive.

Then, the Flyers tied it up.

Hagg passed the puck up to Konecny by the blue line. Konecny made a great cross-ice pass to Giroux for a two-on-one rush. Giroux hit Jakub Voracek with a pass and the winger sniped a goal.

What a pass and shot to tie it up.

The Flyers continued to control play for most of the period, but Hart did have to answer a few chances from the Islanders. One rush by Mat Barzal, in particular, forced Hart to make a save.

Giroux and Co. kept at it in the offensive zone, though, with plenty of pressure and chances.

Just after the midway point of the period, the Islanders took over a bit. They didn’t have many high-danger chances, but they got another power play after Hagg took a tripping penalty.

They had one of their best chances of the game on that power play. Anthony Beauvillier knifed through the defense, but Hart made a beautiful toe save.

After a successful kill, Kevin Hayes drew a penalty for a power play for the Flyers. Unfortunately, they couldn’t do much with it.

The Flyers had a good showing in the second period but only came out tied at two.

Third period

The third period was a bit slower. There were a few early whistles due to icing and offside calls.

It was another tight-checking period with neither team having much room to do much. However, the Flyers drew a penalty early in the period.

They possessed the puck for quite some time on the delayed penalty, but weren’t able to do much with it.

That continued on the actual man-advantage. The Flyers were able to get set up in the zone, but only had a chance or two on net.

The Flyers kept their shifts short in the third period as they rolled all four lines. They’re in the midst of a five-in-seven stretch, so they need to stay fresh. That becomes even more important against a team like the Islanders.

It appeared that Travis Sanheim was boarded late in the period, but there was no call.

The Islanders pinned the Flyers into their own zone in the final minute, but the Flyers survived it.

The game headed to overtime.

Overtime

The Flyers had the better of the chances in the first half of overtime, but Kevin Hayes took a penalty with 1:58 left in the extra session.

Barzal wound up for a one-time shot on the power play, but Hart was waiting for it.

The Flyers did a great job of killing off the penalty to force a shootout.

Shootout

Carter Hart and Ilya Sorokin traded saves through four shootout rounds, but Brock Nelson scored the lone goal in the fifth round of the shootout.

It was a disappointing ending to a hard-fought game for the Flyers. They earned a point but really needed two.

The Flyers are now six points behind the Bruins, who have two games in hand.