Top 5 NY Islanders' games of calendar year 2022

3. Islanders vs Flyers 1/18

This matchup between the Isles and the division-rival Philadelphia Flyers was one of the first to feature the blue and orange on ESPN in its first year back broadcasting NHL games, and they certainly picked out a good one.

The first notable moment of the game to get Islanders' fans excited: Robin Salo blasting his first goal in the NHL in the top corner past Carter Hart. The Flyers would tie things up after the puck took a weird bounce off the boards right in front of Varlamov, creating an easy tap-in for James van Riemsdyk. After Bailey broke the tie by making a great play corralling a high-centering pass by Beauvillier, Varlamov began to come up huge with some great saves, specifically keeping the puck from creeping across the goal line with his blocker. Both teams would trade goals again from Claude Giroux and Casey Cizikas to send the game into overtime.

Neither team could solve the superb goaltending in overtime, which would also translate to the shootout. It took nine rounds for the first goal, a bar-down beauty at the hands of Oliver Wahlstrom to win the game for New York. In the words of ESPN play-by-play announcer John Buccigross, "Winner, Winner, Dunkin Donuts Dinner."