After a 6-game losing streak and only 6 points earned in the last 9 games played, the Flyers fell out of their basically season-long playoff spot. Coming off Friday’s out of character 7-3 win against the league #1 Colorado Avalanche, the Flyers needed to win against the New York Islanders. Heading into Monday night’s game, the Islanders sat at #3 in the Metropolitan division with 2 more points than the Flyers and 1 more game under their belt. A win would have put the Flyers back in a playoff spot, but also reinvigorate the locker room after a dry spell. They needed something to hold onto, they needed a win.
Yet rather than their lights-out performance from Friday night, they went back to playing like the 0-6 team from the week prior. They fell 4-0 to the Islanders in an all around sloppy game. They were slow, they had poor possession of the puck, and they failed to generate chances beyond the first period.
The Flyers continued their habit of a deceptive first period, matching the Islander’s shots 7-7. After Bo Horvat earned the first shot of the night, an icing call against the Islanders gave Drysdale some time with the puck. Noah Cates was hooked by Maxim Tsyplakov to give the Flyers their first power play of the night. Riding a high from Friday’s hat trick, Owen Tippett got a strong shot 30 seconds into the powerplay, but was denied by the crossbar. Matvei Michkov, who also played a pivotal role in the win against the Avs (2G, 1A) and has been turning the corner after a slow start to the season, generated chances for York, Cates and Tippett. None were able to capitalize.
Later in the first, Cates went off for holding against Bo Horvat. Coots was able to clear a rebound from the defensive zone in a rare contribution, and the Flyers were able to kill off the penalty before going back on the power play themselves. Yet as this team continues to have the 3rd worst powerplay in the league, the Islanders inevitably scored shorthanded for the 1-0 lead at 14:29 in the first.
Michkov and Drysdale had legitimate looks throughout the final minutes of the period, yet neither were successful.
While the Flyers technically earned 8 shots on goal in the second period, they all seemed to be pure luck. There seemed to be no skill or technicality in the plays from this team throughout the period, and any possession they had was wasted on careless efforts. Tippett had a wasted chance in the Flyers 3rd powerplay of the night when Adam Boqvist went off for high-sticking. Tippett turned around and cost the Flyers more opportunities when he and Mayfield went off for coincidental minors after exchanging a slash and a cross-check.
After chasing the puck in a long shift for the Flyers, they were beat to it as the Islanders extended their lead 2-0. Barzal got a tip-in past Ersson after a shot from the high slot from Isaiah George. Their lead was extended shortly after when Cam York tripped Kyle MacLean. Tony DeAngelo, a former Flyer during the 2022-2023 season and a lifelong Flyers fan, got on the ice in a bad puck handling moment for Emil Andrae to blast home a powerplay goal and give the Islanders a 3-0 lead on a sloppy Flyers’ play.
The third period was much of the same. After a lackluster performance compared to a season-high on Friday, Tippett got called off on high-sticking against rookie Matthew Schaefer. The Flyers were able to kill off the penalty, yet minutes later, Risto was out of position and opened the door for Jean-Gabriel Pageau to score the 4th and final goal of the night for the Islanders.
Simply put, careless plays and a lack of effort cost the game for Philadelphia. It’s undeniable that the locker room must be at an all-time low right now as the playoffs continue to slip from the Flyers on their annual tank. The Flyers are back on the road for a back-to-back tomorrow night against Columbus for a 7:30pm puckdrop, with just 4 games remaining afterwards leading into the Olympic break. Vladar is expected to return in the coming days.
Philly's Next Shift 