Flyers fall in preseason vs. Islanders, but bubble players make their case

ELMONT, N.Y. — The nature of a road preseason game was on full display again for the Flyers, simply based on who was dressed for the team’s second preseason game.

The Islanders dressed 13 skaters with at least 45 games of NHL experience. The Flyers had just seven such players, and it’s possible only five of those seven are even dressed come Oct. 12, when the Flyers open the regular season in Columbus.

That said, there were some interesting takeaways from a 2-1 loss, as the Flyers even outplayed the Islanders for large stretches of the game.

Here are a few takeaways from UBS Arena.

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Felix Sandström looked solid during Monday’s preseason-opening 6-0 loss vs. the Devils, playing the final period and allowing just one goal — a breakaway. He started Wednesday and played the opening period. The Flyers played pretty solidly in front of him in the first 20 minutes, though when they got caught, Sandström twice made big saves in high-percentage scoring areas.

The lone goal Sandström allowed in the period came when noted Flyers killer Mathew Barzal — who is a point-per-game player vs. Philadelphia for his career — got a stick on a point shot and deflected it high in the air. The puck later glanced off Simon Holmstrom in front of the net and in. Sandström never saw it.

Sam Ersson, another of the three goalies fighting for the No. 2 goalie job behind Carter Hart, got his first preseason action and played the final two periods.

He had a strong outing, making 10 saves in the second period and another three in the third. The Islanders did beat him on a broken play that found the stick of Julien Gauthier on the power play in the second period. Ersson was screened and didn’t appear to see the shot.

Want a look at the battle to win a job with the Flyers on defense? The top two pairings Wednesday night had the four combatants: Ronnie Attard with Victor Mete, Adam Ginning with Emil Andrae.

Attard had a really solid game. He fired five shots on goal, jumped into the offense frequently and showed his physicality. He’d probably want a few chances back from a first-period power play, but he was otherwise the best of the bunch.

Mete, who has the most NHL experience of the four (247 games), also played well. He also showed that he wasn’t afraid to join in offensively when needed, and used some smart stick work to break up a few plays in front of the Flyers’ net.

» READ MORE: Flyers defenseman Ronnie Attard gets his first preseason audition in a bid to make the roster

The Flyers may not have had a lot of NHL experience on the ice Wednesday night, but they brought two of their most experienced forwards, veteran wingers Nic Deslauriers, 32, and Garnet Hathaway, 31, who were joined by center Ryan Poehling on what would appear to be the favored combination to be the opening night new-look fourth line.

There wasn’t much noteworthy from their play Wednesday, but it was a good chance for them to see some game action together.

Poehling finally scored the Flyers’ only goal, with 2 minutes, 22 seconds left in the game, but not with his original linemates. The goal ended an almost 118-minute drought for the Flyers to begin preseason.

“I think we’re getting to know each other pretty well,” Poehling said. “I thought we did good in the scrimmages and then just kind of building off that.

“Games are obviously completely different and the ebbs and flows of a game are not as good as the scrimmages with all the penalties and whatnot. So for how that went I think we did a good job, created some offense and didn’t spend a lot of time in our D zone. We’re still learning to play with one another and I love playing with them. I think if we can just keep moving the needle forward every day we’re going to be happy.”

The Flyers said they wanted to reward a few standouts from rookie camp with some exhibition action, and Zayde Wisdom, who spent some time in the ECHL last season, got his chance Wednesday night.

Phantoms coach Ian Laperrière, who again coached the Flyers on the bench, said earlier Wednesday that he liked that Wisdom spent a lot of his summer at the team’s training facility.

Wisdom, a 21-year-old fourth-rounder from the 2020 draft, will likely be with the Phantoms to start the year.

“I grabbed him this morning and just told him, ‘just build on what you’re doing,’” Laperrière said.

“He knows down deep that he did more this summer than the guy next to him. At this level it’s a mental edge that you need to be better than the guy next to you. He knows that he did the work and I think that’s one of the reasons he looks so good.”

Wisdom skated on a line with Rhett Gardner and Wade Allison.

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The Flyers outshot the Islanders, 30-19. ... “I think we were the better team, let’s be honest here,” said Laperrière. “When Barzal was out there it was different, he’s an elite player. But I felt like the guys worked hard. We had chances and couldn’t bury those.” ... The team practices Thursday morning in Voorhees. They’re back on the ice Friday night in Boston before hosting the Devils Saturday night at Wells Fargo Center. ... Expect another lean — as far as NHLers go — lineup Friday night in Boston and more regulars to play Saturday.