Flyers force OT with 9.6 seconds left, but lose to Islanders 4-3 in Ivan Fedotov’s debut

Ivan Fedotov, welcome to the never-say-die Flyers.

Nearly eight years after the goalie was drafted, he made his debut 20 minutes into a game that could only be described as a must-win for a multitude of reasons. The Flyers waited until 9.6 seconds were left in the third period to tie things up on Morgan Frost’s goal and give Fedotov his first taste of overtime.

But Fedotov was also introduced to a Flyers team that has been struggling lately and 84 seconds into the extra session, Brock Nelson scored to give the Islanders a 4-3 win.

With the point they earned, the Flyers moved into third place in the Metropolitan Division as the Washington Capitals were off on Monday. Washington has three games in hand on Philly and will play twice between now and Friday. With their win, the Islanders moved within four points of the Flyers, and have played two fewer games.

Fedotov entered the game to start the second period and immediately looked cool and calm in net. His first action as the Flyers goalie was playing the puck behind the net and he didn’t make his first NHL save until 4 minutes, 21 seconds into the period when he turned aside an easy shot by Mathew Barzal.

The Russian netminder did allow the go-ahead goal in the second period, a nifty deflection in front by Islanders captain Anders Lee, but there wasn’t much he could do to stop that one. Across 40 minutes of action, the rookie squared up to shooters, stopped Barzal on a breakaway while flashing the leather, and made key stops to keep the Flyers in it until the end. He stopped 19 of 21 shots — 16 of 17 in the second period alone — but it was too little too late.

Things started out well for the Flyers, who entered the game on a four-game losing streak, during which they were outscored 19-8. Noah Cates notched the first goal of the night, something that eluded the Orange and Black in each of the past two games. After Robert Bortuzzo batted down the puck with his glove in the neutral zone, Cates corralled the bouncer around Nelson. He skated into the Islanders’ zone and snapped the puck through a Mike Reilly screen to end a 14-game goal drought.

The feel-good vibes were short-lived, however, as the Islanders got two quick ones. Matt Martin was left open at the right point and had his shot go in off the glove of Sam Ersson. Just 18 seconds later, Bo Horvat made it 2-1 as he sent a laser from the left faceoff circle for his 30th of the season and 500th NHL point.

And the Horvat goal came with further consequences as captain Sean Couturier was injured on the play. Going for the puck in the corner, he was hit hard into the boards by Islanders defenseman Ryan Pulock and came up favoring his right arm. Couturier left the game and did not return. There was no update on his status from coach John Tortorella after the game.

» READ MORE: Flyers’ Sean Couturier exits game against Islanders with an injury

Fedotov coming in seemed to not only spark the crowd but also his new buddies. Just 43 seconds into the middle frame, Travis Sanheim picked the puck up behind his own net, skated through the neutral zone, and shook off Horvat before firing a wicked wrister off the post and in. But it didn’t last long as the Flyers fell back into old habits and struggled to maintain zone time and pressure until it was almost too late.

Ersson allowed two goals on six shots. ... Belarussian goalie Alexei Kolosov is in the U.S. He is expected to be assigned to Lehigh Valley in the next few days. ... Olle Lycksell, Marc Staal, Adam Ginning, Ronnie Attard and Bobby Brink were each a healthy scratch on Monday.

The Flyers are off Tuesday before two days of practice in advance of a four-game road trip that begins Friday against the Buffalo Sabres (7 p.m. on NBCSP).