An early first power play goal by Anthony Beauvillier and an even strength tally by Anders Lee in the final minute of the frame proved to be the difference. Josh Bailey added a power play goal in the final 14.4 seconds of the third period.
Cory Scheider recorded a 24-save shutout for New York. Martin Jones gave the Flyers a chance to win and could not be faulted on any of the Islanders' goals but his team could not solve the netminder at the other end of the ice.
TURNING POINT
It's never easy to chase the game against the Islanders, even when you have all your regulars in the lineup. The Flyers were behind the eight ball early on a Nicolas Aube-Kubel penalty that turned into Beauvillier's goal. Philly settled in but saw their deficit double as Lee knocked home a puck from the crease in the final minute of the first period.
MELTZER'S TAKE
1) Beauvillier's goal was scored on a quick wrist shot off a feed from Josh Bailey. The shot beat Jones to the stick side. The Lee goal came about from Lee taking advantage of a physical mismatch near the net as the much smaller Cam York simply could not contain him and Lee scored on a backhander from point blank range. Later, Aube-Kubel took his second penalty of the game -- this one with exactly two minutes left in the third period -- and it turned into a shooting gallery for New York. Jones made several tough saves. Finally, Bailey potted an extra insurance goal from the bottom of the right circle.
2) The Flyers, arguably, played the Islanders evenly in between the first and second New York goals. Getting scored upon in the final minute of the period was a tough pill to swallow, even in a preseason tilt. Gerry Mayhew had one of the better scoring chances for the Flyers although neither team was giving up much over the middle. Isaac Ratcliffe had a crack at a scoring chance on the power play.
3) Philly outworked New York in the second period and actually had a territorial edge against their superior roster but couldn't make a dent in the deficit. A shorthanded 2-on-1 with Nate Thompson and Scott Laughton and a pair of good chances for Aube-Kubel were as close as the Flyers came to scoring.
4) Laughton had a pair of good scoring opportunities in the third period. After the Flyers' final power play of the game went by the wayside, Jones made a tough save on a 2-on-1 counterattack to keep the deficit at two goals. The late Aube-Kubel penalty saw New York control the puck for the duration of the man advantage -- the Flyers were never even close to being able to get Jones to the bench for a 5-on-5 with an empty net -- and ended with Bailey's icing-on-the-cake goal.
5) The Flyers penalty kill has yielded six opposing power play goals through the first five games of the preseason. Given that it was a sore spot for the team last year, that's clearly an area that needs to get better by opening night on Oct. 15.
