Samuel Ersson, Tyson Foerster lift Flyers to shootout victory over Islanders

ELMONT, N.Y. — It was a battle of the goalies Saturday night, as the Islanders’ Ilya Sorokin and Flyers backup Samuel Ersson were lights-out through the first 65 minutes of play.

Scoreless though regulation and overtime, the game went to a shootout. Ultimately, it was Ersson who prevailed, as the Flyers won in the shootout, 1-0.

Ersson and Sorokin turned aside the first three shooters they faced. After Ersson denied Islanders’ Kyle Palmieri, it was Tyson Foerster who got to play the hero, beating Sorokin with a wrist shot and finally breaking the stalemate.

“Usually after practice I mess around with [Carter Hart] and I do that move quite a bit. So he just told me, ‘Yeah, do it.’ ” Foerster said.

Sorokin finished with 40 saves, while Ersson had 24.

“It’s big for me. [Sorokin is] one of the best goalies in the whole world,” Ersson said. “He’s a guy that you definitely know how great he is. It’s a big moment for me to kind of get that opportunity to measure myself against him.”

With Hart having played two games in the previous three days, Ersson got the start in net.

Ersson’s last start was on Nov. 19, a 22-save win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. He was tested early by the Islanders, making five saves in the first six minutes of play, including a glove save on a Noah Dobson wrister.

That early pressure, however, didn’t last. With Ryan Poehling sent off for tripping, the Flyers’ penalty kill was sharp, preventing the Islanders from getting a single shot on net. The momentum swung back in the Flyers’ favor and the Islanders went the final 14 minutes of the first period without a shot, while the Flyers peppered Sorokin with 12.

Sean Couturier had a gift-wrapped chance as the clock ticked down in that opening period, finding himself alone in the slot, but his wrist shot was turned aside by Sorokin.

There were dangerous chances both ways in the second and third periods, but Ersson and Sorokin made huge stops to preserve the tie. A Flyers turnover in the defensive zone led to a point-blank shot from Julien Gauthier in the left faceoff circle, but Ersson made a pad save.

“We kept our composure throughout the game,” Ersson said. “I think we played a good game, but the goals just didn’t come for us and we didn’t get flustered or anything. We stuck to it, and we got rewarded for it.”

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Foerster, playing on the top line, had several chances to pot his second goal of the season, finishing with six shots on net in addition to the shootout goal.

“He’s been close for quite a while. I guess it doesn’t count as a goal for him. But it will count for him, because hopefully it just releases him,” Flyers coach John Tortorella said. “He’s done everything else except score. Hopefully that’ll help his confidence there. It’s a great move, on a really good goalie.”

A bouncing puck near Sorokin’s crease with seconds remaining in the third narrowly missed ending the stalemate. The puck went the other way, Travis Konecny made a huge diving block on a Ryan Pulock slapshot, and the game headed to overtime.

Noah Cates was moved back to his natural position at wing to start the game. The move was an attempt to provide an offensive spark for Cates, who has struggled this season with the offensive side of his game. Entering Saturday, the 24-year-old had one goal through 20 games.

Cates, who took a puck to the face on Friday which required 30 stitches, hobbled off the ice in the second after blocking a shot, but was back out for his next shift. On a line with Poehling and Joel Farabee, Cates generated several near-miss scoring chances, finishing with three shots on goal and a takeaway.

“I think he took a chance and tried to make more offensive plays,” Tortorella said. “That’s the thing that’s been missing from Noah’s game. He’s very comfortable playing the defensive part of it. He did it all last year. We’re asking him to do more. I thought he made an attempt to do that today. He held on to pucks. There are certain pucks, just entering the blue line offensively where earlier in the year, he’s just throwing them in deep. He held on to it, made some plays.”

Rasmus Ristolainen made his season debut after being activated from long-term injured reserve earlier Saturday. The defenseman traded hits with Islanders captain Anders Lee in the first period. Ristolainen finished with three hits and two blocked shots.

“I actually felt better than I expected. I kept the shift lengths pretty short,” Ristolainen said. “My legs were pretty heavy. Nothing compares to the game action, doesn’t matter how much I skate by myself and shoot by myself. But it’s different when it’s game time. Yeah, I mean, I tried to keep it as fresh as possible.”

Morgan Frost also got back into the lineup after sitting for three straight games. Frost has been scratched for 10 of the Flyers’ first 21 games of the season. Against the Islanders, he had three shots and went 40% on faceoffs.

The Flyers return home to take on the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday (7:30 p.m., ESPN+).