Observations from Flyers’ 4-3 OT win over the Islanders in Game 5
Scott Laughton was the hero, but Sean Couturier left with an injury as the Flyers forced a Game 6 Thursday night (7 p.m., NBCSN).
It was a night of firsts for the Flyers. First goal for Claude Giroux. First goal for James van Riemsdyk. First (gulp) injury concern to one of their top-end players. And the first star for Scott Laughton, the overtime hero. Here are some observations from Tuesday night:
The hero. Laughton was on the top line only because Sean Couturier left late in the second period with an apparent knee injury. He scored his first goal since the round-robin and gave the Flyers a little life. Not bad for a guy who was scratched for Game 2 of this series.
Droughts ended. Giroux scored the Flyers’ first goal and was followed by van Riemsdyk less than three minutes later. It was both players’ first of the playoffs. Giroux had just one goal in his last 26 playoff games entering the night.
Did you notice? Giroux’s goal came from a deflection from a point blast from Phil Myers. It was the same spot on the ice Myers scored the overtime winner in Game 2, the only victory the Flyers had in this series before Tuesday.
Did you also notice? Van Riemsdyk’s goal came following a puck battle win by Travis Konecny in the defensive zone over Adam Pelech.
This is discouraging. Couturier left late in the second period following a collision with Mathew Barzal. Couturier briefly came back to take a face-off but did not play in the final period. Coach Alain Vigneault put Laughton up with Giroux and Jake Voracek on the top line. Barzal also had to leave after taking a stick to the face in the third period.
93 seconds of hell. The third period again was a problem for the Flyers, who failed to hold a two-goal lead when New York scored twice in 93 seconds to force the overtime. The second goal was scored by Derrick Brassard, who played for Alain Vigneault with the Rangers. The Flyers defense was mesmerized by Cal Clutterback’s stick-handling and Brassard snuck in behind Robert Hagg with 2:41 left in regulation. Carter Hart, who was strong for most of the night, wilted under the Islanders pressure in the final half of the third period.
Our three stars. Scott Laughton, Josh Bailey, Travis Konecny. Official three stars were Konecy, Claude Giroux, Bailey.
What’s next? The Flyers live to play another day, which will be Thursday night, likely either 7 or 8 p.m. depending on whether Vegas-Vancouver series needs a Game 6. The Golden Knights entered Tuesday up 3-1.
Inside the numbers. Each team had 32 shots on goal. The Flyers, however, were much more active with 79 total attempts (counting blocks and misses) to 60 for the Isles. ... The Flyers are now 38-38 all-time in playoff overtimes. ... Ivan Provorov led all players with 29:04 of ice time. ... Nic Aube-Kubel and the Islanders’ Clutterbuck each were credited with eight hits. The Islanders outhit the Flyers 56-53 for the evening. The average advantage over the first four games was Islanders, 36-33.
Grease lightning. The game’s first goal was the kind of “greasy” one that Vigneault predicted would decide this series. Tyler Pitlick took Barzal into Hart’s crease. Then Ivan Provorov joined in. Josh Bailey banged it off the carnage for his first goal of the series.
Save it. Great save in the first by Hart, who came out and challenged Jean-Gabriel Pageau during an Islanders rush. He knocked the puck away with his skate, and it was the type of aggressive play you like to see out of your 22-year-old goaltender in his first elimination game. Stay healthy, kid. Job can be yours for the next 10 years.
A little horse play. If you know Keith Jones, you know he loves the ponies. Even if the ponies don’t always love him back. During a tease to NBC’s coverage of Saturday’s Kentucky Derby, announcer John Forslund mentioned that Art Collector was not going to run because of a lower-body injury. That’s when Jones piped in. “That would be like missing the Stanley Cup Final Game 7 with a sore toe. Believe me, I’ve owned enough horses to know how that goes. Tiz the Law’s gonna win though, Johnny. No doubt about it. Put down your four bucks and get six back.”
The final word. “I was pretty fired up. It was probably one of the bigger goals in my career,” Laughton said. “Obviously, it’s a nice feeling. I was really excited. But at the same time, we’re still down in this series and we’ve got a lot of work to do.”