Flyers blow two-goal lead, lose to the Islanders in overtime
The Flyers squandered a two-goal lead in the third period to lose their seventh straight game.
When it appeared the Flyers would end their losing streak, their misery continued. Leading by two goals entering the third period, the Flyers squandered that advantage Friday and lost in overtime, 5-4, to the New York Islanders at the Wells Fargo Center.
The Flyers have lost seven in a row and are 1-6 in overtime and shootout games.
"We got a 4-2 lead. I don' t care how you do it, but you got to find a way to get the win," said captain Claude Giroux, who had a goal and assist, making him the 10th player in franchise history to record 600 points.
A wide-open Nick Leddy scored from the slot on a pass from Josh Ho-Sang with 2 minutes, 16 seconds left in the three-on-three overtime.
The Flyers have been plagued by defensive mixups in overtime with opponents left wide open.
"We obviously have to work on it," Flyers goalie Brian Elliott said. "The definition of insanity is if you keep doing the same thing over and over and over again. We have to change some things and talk about it because these are big points, and they can come back to haunt you."
This was the second overtime loss to the Islanders in three days for the Flyers and the third time in the last five games the Flyers (8-9-6) have squandered a two-goal lead.
"I think we kind of got away from our game, sitting back and playing to protect the lead, and we have to keep pushing," said defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere, who had a goal and an assist.
Early in the third period, the Flyers' Travis Konecny, in a shorthanded situation, was stopped on a breakaway by Islanders goalie Thomas Greiss. The Islanders then went down and cut the Flyers' lead to 4-3 when Jordan Eberle scored from in front of the net after Flyers defenseman Robert Haag whiffed on the puck.
The Islanders tied the score when Andrew Ladd tapped in a pass from behind the net from Eberle with 7:49 left in the third period.
The Flyers erupted for four second-period goals to take a 4-2 entering the third period.
Trailing 1-0, the Flyers tied the score on Giroux's 10th goal of the season with 16:11 left in the second period.
Give a major assist to Hagg, who wouldn't allow the Islanders to clear the puck. Hagg eventually gained control and fed Giroux, who shot from the high slot
Wayne Simmonds broke a scoring drought to give the Flyers a 2-1 lead with 13:32 left in the second period. Simmonds had gone the previous 14 games without a goal. Gostisbehere shot a rocket from the point that deflected off the left post, and Simmonds was there to tip in the rebound for his seventh goal.
Back and forth it went.
The Islanders tied the score at 2-2 when Cal Clutterbuck tipped in a Dennis Seidenberg shot from the point.
Moments later, Elliott allowed a goal on a weak center ice shot by Johnny Boychuk, but he was saved when the goal was nullified on a delayed offside call.
Then the Flyers took over, scoring two goals in 19 seconds.
Gostisbehere broke the tie with a wrist shot in the slot. Sean Couturier, skating on the left wing, was held by Adam Pelech, and a delayed penalty was called. Couturier deflected the puck off Islanders defenseman Calvin De Haan to Jake Voracek, who found Gostisbehere open in the slot.
Gostisbehere had not scored in his previous 13 games.
That was followed by a Couturier goal with 7:30 left in the second period on a play that began with Giroux dumping the puck behind the net. Voracek beat De Haan to the puck and fed Couturier, who flipped a one-timer in the far post for his 13th goal.
With 2:59 left in the first period, Flyers rookie Nolan Patrick was awarded the first penalty shot of his career. He sent a backhand wide of the net. Danick Martel sent Patrick in on goal, and Seidenberg, a former Flyer, was called for holding on the breakaway, giving Patrick the penalty shot.
The Flyers had scored the game's first goal in their previous four contests. That streak was snapped when impressive Islanders rookie center Mathew Barzal opened the scoring with just 16.9 seconds left in the first period on a fluke goal.
Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield sent in a shot from the point. Ladd, positioned at the right side of the net, tipped the puck to Barzal, who never got a stick on it but had it deflect off his thigh and bounce off the back of Elliott's pads and into the net for his sixth goal of the season.
It was a sign of things to come for the Flyers.