Snap Shots: Islanders @ Flyers — 11/23/13

Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

Welcome to Snap Shots, our condensed post-game recap of the New York Islanders latest NHL matchup

New York Islanders (8-12-3, 19pts) @ Philadelphia Flyers (9-10-2, 20pts)

Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA

7:05pm EST    

Islanders 2 – Flyers 5

Starting Lineup

26 Thomas Vanek – 91 John Tavares – 21 Kyle Okposo
12 Josh Bailey – 51 Frans Nielsen – 12 Colin McDonald
40 Michael Grabner – 29 Brock Nelson – 15 Cal Clutterbuck
17 Matt Martin – 53 Casey Cizikas – 36 Eric Boulton

47 Andrew MacDonald – 3 Travis Hamonic
46 Matt Donovan — 4 Radek Martinek
14 Thomas Hickey – 7 Matt Carkner

60 Kevin Poulin
45 Anders Nilsson

*Noticeable healthy scratches: Peter Regin, Pierre-Marc Bouchard

Game Summary

Very little activity to speak of through the first half of the opening frame. Each team fired six shots but aside from a Grabner partial breakaway no scoring chances of note.  Thomas Hickey took the game’s first penalty at the ten minute mark, which the Isles killed off. By the fourteen minute mark the teams had just seven shots apiece. Multiple faceoffs due to stoppages in play, mostly won by the Flyers though Tavares won six of the eight he took in the period. Poulin made some nice stops late in the frame.  Josh Bailey and Thomas Vanek had nice chances in the dying minutes, and Vanek blocked a shot near the end of the period. Travis Hamonic led all Isles skaters with 9:03 of ice time.   SOG NYI 10- PHI 10.

The early portion of the second was anything but uneventful. The Flyers came out strong to start the period. Poulin mishandled a shot by Sean Couturier and Matt Read banged in the rebound to take a 1-0 lead just 46 seconds in. An unlucky play just 59 seconds later as Wayne Simmonds banked a shot off the stick of Andrew MacDonald to put Philly up 2-0. Before the four minute mark Claude Giroux had converted on a penalty to Thomas Vanek, and the score stood at 3-0. Andrew MacDonald took yet another penalty, this one for unsportsmanlike, following the third Flyer goal. That was also the end of Kevin Poulin’s evening; after allowing three goals on five shots in less than four minutes, he returned to the bench and Anders Nilsson took to the ice. Things calmed down for the next several minutes, with neither team registering as much as a shot on net. The Isles got their first power play opportunity of the game just after the halfway point of the period. They got some decent chances but failed to convert. The Isles finally connected on their 18th shot of the game on a John Tavares tip-in. Vanek and Donovan got the helpers. Michael Grabner nearly missed converting on a scoring chance late in the period.  SOG NYI 13 – PHI 12.

The Isles came out for the third with an air of desperation; three minutes in they were outshooting the Flyers 3-0 and Eric Boulton had recorded his first goal of the season. Casey Cizikas got the assist, extending his points streak to five games. The Flyers called a time out at 5:16 in an attempt to break up the mounting Isles momentum. The Isles continued to press, outshooting Philly 10-4 by the eleven minute mark. Matt Martin was his usual feisty self, racking up hits and playing with energy. But despite the Isles enthusiasm the Flyers managed to take the wind out of their sails with a Brayden Schenn goal. Flyers goalie Steve Mason took a delay of game penalty with six minutes to play but the Isles failed to capitalize.  One last Isles power play with 3:21 left to play accomplished nothing. Matt Read netted his second of the night into the empty net for a 5-2 final.  SOG NYI 15 – PHI 8.

Statistics

Goals

1st Period

None

2nd Period

00:46 PHI Matt Read (7) Slapshot – ASST: Sean Couturier (7), Steve Downie (12)  1 – 0 PHI

01:45 PHI Wayne Simmonds (4) Snap shot – ASST: Vincent Lecavalier (5), Erik Gustafsson (4)  2 – 0 PHI

03:48 PHI PPG – Claude Giroux (3) Slapshot – ASST: Wayne Simmonds (7), Jakub Voracek (8)  3 – 0 PHI

14:04 NYI John Tavares (10) Tip-in – ASST: Thomas Vanek (8), Matt Donovan (4)  3 – 1 PHI

3rd Period

02:39 NYI Eric Boulton (1) Backhand shot – ASST: Casey Cizikas (3)  3 – 2 PHI

12:21 PHI Brayden Schenn (7) Snap Shot – ASST: Jakub Voracek (9), CLaude Giroux (12) 4-2 PHI

Penalties

1st Period

10:00 NYI Thomas Hickey  Interference  – 2 min against  Steve Downie

2nd Period

03:17 NYI Thomas Vanek  Hooking  – 2 min against  Sean Couturier

03:48 NYI Andrew MacDonald  Unsportsmanlike conduct  – 2 min

10:22 PHI Erik Gustafsson  Interference  – 2 min against  Colin McDonald

3rd Period

13:59 PHI Steve Mason Delay of Game – 2 mins served by Wayne Simmonds

16:21 PHI Claude Giroux  Delay Gm – Face-off Violation  – 2 min

Shots On Goal

Isles 38-Flyers 30

Turning Point

Three quick goals in the opening minutes of the second period proved to be more than the Isles could rebound from. Poulin got the hook, and despite a solid showing from Nilsson and a valiant effort to rally the offense, the damage was already done.

What’s Ahead

The Isles have now dropped three in a row and seven straight on the road. They return home on Wednesday to host the 10-11-4 Winnipeg Jets. The Jets have struggled this season and currently sit in last place in the Central Division, but are 5-3-2 in their last ten and are 4-1-1 in games against Eastern Conference opponents this season. Their latest game was a 3-2 shootout loss to the Minnesota Wild on Saturday.