Slumping Flyers Fall To Islanders, 2-1, In Overtime
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Ilya Sorokin stole one for the Islanders. Sorokin made 36 saves and increased his club-record streak for a rookie to eight straight victories, and Anthony Beauvillier scored on a wraparound 3:41 into overtime to give the New York Islanders a 2-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday night.
"It would be larceny, probably," Islanders coach Barry Trotz joked when asked about his goalie's performance.
The 24-year-old Sorokin has allowed just 11 goals during his personal winning streak.
"He's just been unbelievable," Oliver Wahlstrom said.
Wahlstrom also scored for the East Division-leading Islanders. New York has won 11 of 13.
Oskar Lindblom scored for the slumping Flyers, who lost for the eighth time in 12 games.
Philadelphia outshot the Islanders 37-19.
"We came to play tonight right from the beginning," Flyers coach Alain Vigneault said. "We had some real good looks. At the end of the night, their goaltender was the difference."
On the winning goal, New York took advantage of Shayne Gostisbehere's turnover in the Flyers' zone. Jean-Gabriel Pageau sent the pass behind the net to Beauvillier, who beat Brian Elliott on a backhand.
"It's one of those instinct plays," Beauvillier said. "It just happens and you hope for the best. I was fortunate it hit his skate and went in the net. Sometimes you get lucky with it."
New York took two of three from Philadelphia in the three-game mini series. The Flyers won the opener 4-3 on Thursday, and the Islanders won 6-1 on Saturday. Both of those contests were on the Islanders' home ice.
Lindblom put the Flyers ahead 1-0 with 7:57 left in the second when scored his fifth of the season from close range on a assists from Claude Giroux and Jake Voracek.
Wahlstrom tied it 4:06 into the third when he pounced on a loose puck in front of the crease and shot high over sprawled Elliott.
"Just a rebound goal I could bury," Wahlstrom said.
Elliott, Philadelphia's regular backup, got the start and was backed by Alex Lyon. Carter Hart, Philadelphia's primary starter who has struggled recently, spent the day working with goaltending coach Kim Dillabaugh.
Besides the result, Elliott liked the way the Flyers played.
"It was a really good game from a lot of aspects from our team," he said. "It's a good building block and shows us how we need to play on a nightly basis."
BREAK TIME
The Islanders originally were scheduled to play at Boston on Tuesday, but they instead will have the day off after the game was postponed due to COVID-19 protocols with the Bruins.
"It's huge whenever you get the opportunity to rest and recover from anything at this point," Beauvillier said. "Everyone is kind of banged up physically and mentally. We're going to try to make the best of it and be back stronger."
LINEUP SHUFFLE
Flyers C Sean Couturier returned to the lineup after missing Saturday's game at the Islanders with a hip injury, and Gostisbehere returned after being benched for the previous three contests.
UP NEXT
Islanders: Scheduled to play at Boston on Thursday.
Flyers: Host New Jersey on Tuesday.
