Flyers Blown Out For 2nd Time In 3 Games In 6-1 Loss To Islanders
UNIONDALE, N.Y. (AP) -- Casey Cizikas scored twice in New York's four-goal first period and the Islanders beat the Philadelphia Flyers 6-1 Saturday night. Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Jordan Eberle, Anthony Beauvillier and Josh Bailey also scored to help the Islanders end a two-game skid that followed a nine-game winning streak. Oliver Wahlstrom and Thomas Hickey each had two assists and Ilya Sorokin stopped 23 shots for his seventh straight win.
Joel Farabee scored for Philadelphia, which has lost seven of its last 11. Carter Hart, who came in with a 3.70 goals-against average and .880 save percentage, finished with 22 saves.
The teams conclude their three-game series Monday at Philadelphia.
Sorokin had nine saves in the first, 11 in the second and three in the third to help the Islanders win for the 12th time in their last 15 (12-2-1) and improve to 13-1-2 at home.
Cizikas had a chance for his first career hat trick, but his backhand try in front went wide about 4 1/2 minutes into the third.
Beauvillier made it 5-1 at 9:45 of the final period after he deflected a pass from behind the net by Philadelphia defenseman Nate Prosser. The puck went to Brock Nelson at the right side and he tapped back to Beauvillier, who quickly beat Hart for his third.
Bailey capped the scoring after intercepting a pass from behind the net by Hart and putting it into the open net for his fourth with 4:14 to go.
Leading 4-1 after 20 minutes, the Islanders had several chances to add to their advantage in a fast-paced second period. However, they missed on some shots, the Flyers blocked several tries and Michael Dal Colle hit a post about 9 minutes in.
New York outshot Philadelphia 13-9 in the first, scoring the first four goals — including three in a span of 3:50.
With the Islanders on the power play, Pageau knocked in the rebound of a shot by Wahlstrom to put the Islanders up 1-0 at 6:11. It was Pageau's 10th of the season and 99th of his career.
Eberle doubled the lead just 1:50 later. With several players scrambling for the puck in front of the Flyers' net, Eberle skated in and fired it past Hart for his 10th.
Cizikas made it 3-0 at 10:03 as he skated in and fired a shot from the left faceoff dot and beat Hart on the glove side.
Cizikas padded the lead with his second of the night and sixth of the season with 4:35 remaining in the opening period as he got up after taking a hit in the right corner, skated in and quickly scored off a back pass from Hickey..
Farabee got the Flyers on the scoreboard on a 2-on-1 with 2:08 left as he beat Sorokin from the right circle for his 13th — tying James van Riemsdyk for the team lead.
HICKEY RETURNS
With D Noah Dobson still out due to COVID-19 protocol, Hickey played in his first NHL game for the Islanders since the 2019 playoffs. He had three assists while appearing in 14 games for Bridgeport of the AHL last season.
Hickey's assist on Eberle's goal in the first period was his first point since Dec. 6, 2018, against Pittsburgh. He finished with his first multipoint game since Jan. 13, 2018, at the New York Rangers.
Sebastian Aho had played in Dobson's place in the previous three games.
COUTURIER SCRATCHED
Flyers C Sean Couturier was a late scratch due to a lower-body injury. Michael Raffl took his place in the lineup.
SCHEDULES
The Islanders were scheduled to open a five-game trip when they visit the Flyers on Monday night. That was to be followed by two-game series at Boston and Pittsburgh, but Tuesday's game has been postponed due to a COVID-19 outbreak with the Bruins. The status of Thursday night's game is still uncertain.
EVERY DAY
The Islanders have 11 players who have played in all of the team's 32 games this season — defensemen Nick Leddy, Adam Pelech, Andy Greene, Ryan Pulock, and Scott Mayfield, and forwards Eberle, Bailey, Mathew Barzal, Matt Martin, Brock Nelson and Cizikas.
Forwards Kevin Hayes, Nolan Patrick and van Riemsdyk, and defenseman Ivan Provorov are the four Flyers players to have appeared in all 29 games.
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