Postgame 5: Flyers roll Isles in preseason finale

The Flyers concluded the 2023 preseason with a 5-2 victory against the New York Islanders at the Wells Fargo Center on Thursday evening. Nicolas Deslauriers (1st goal of the preseason), Noah Cates (1st), Owen Tippett (1st), Travis Konecny (power play, 2nd) and Cam Atkinson (2nd) scored for Philly. Morgan Frost had a pair of primary assists.

Karson Kuhlman took advantage of a Flyers turnover in the offensive end and soloed the other way for a breakaway goal that gave the Islanders a 1-0 lead at 9:54 of the first period. The goal, coming on New York's third shot of the game, was unassisted.

The Flyers drew even at 15:15 on a strong forechecking shift by the fourth line. Finally, Garnet Hathaway won a battle behind the net and passed out in front to Deslauriers, who finished it off to forge a 1-1 tie. Travis Sanheim earned the secondary assist.

Strong plays at both ends of the ice by Cates opened a 2-1 lead for the Flyers at 16:24. Cates blocked a shot in the defensive zone, and Travis Konecny led a counterattack in transition. Going hard to the net, Cates took a feed from Konecny and buried the puck in the back of the net.

The Flyers opened a 3-1 lead at 8:14 of the second period.  Tippett put himself in perfect position to receive a tape-to-tape pass from Morgan Frost and then powered to the net and followed up his own rebound. The secondary assist went to Tyson Foerster.

A 5-on-3 power play goal by the Flyers made it 4-1 at 18:45 of the middle frame. Crisp passing was the key and Konecny made no mistake from the right slot after a quick centering feed from Sean Couturier. Cam York earned the secondary helper.

The Islanders cut the deficit to 4-2 at 5:55 of the third period. Oliver Wahlstrom centered the puck in front and Brian Pinho scored from the slot into the vacated net. The goal came on the Islanders' first shot of the final stanza.

Philly made it 5-2 at 7:41. Frost jumped on the puck in the neutral zone, carried in and fed an open Atkinson in the right slot. Atkinson made no mistake.

Making his second and final start of the exhibition slate, Carter Hart earned the win. He stopped 14 of 16 shots. Semyon Varlamov was between the pipes for the Islanders. The Russian netminder didn't get much help in front as he yielded five goals on 31 shots.

A scheduled starter, defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen, was a late scratch due to a minor injury. He was held out for precautionary reasons. Emil Andrae stepped into the starting lineup. 

FLYERS STARTING LINEUP

Joel Farabee - Sean Couturier - Tyson Foerster
Owen Tippett - Morgan Frost - Cam Atkinson
Scott Laughton- Noah Cates - Travis Konecny
Nic Deslauriers - Ryan Poehling - Garnet Hathaway

Cam York - Emil Andrae
Marc Staal - Travis Sanheim
Nick Seeler - Sean Walker

Carter Hart
[Samuel Ersson]

POSTGAME 5

1) Travis Konecny was on the receiving end of a high stick from Samuel Bolduc at 1:54 of the first period. The Flyers generated three shots on the man advantage but were unable to score.  At 4:55, Tyson Foerster was called for slashing on an attempted forecheck.  Philly killed off the penalty in good shape. With the Flyers trailing 1-0, Cam York took an interference penalty at 12:08. Hart got some help from the right goalpost to keep the deficit to one goal.

2) The Flyers won the first period territorial battle and put 11 shots on goal to four for New York. The Flyers also had seven shot attempts blocked while blocking four at the other end. Philly was credited with three takeaways in the period.

3) The Islanders went to their third power play at 1:40 following a holding penalty on Nick Seeler trying to prevent a Julien Gauthier drive to the net. During the ensuing penalty kill, Scott Laughton lost a potential breakaway when he stumbled and fell in the neutral zone. As the New York power play continued, Gauthier hit the post on a one-timer from the left circle.

4) Andrae saw time both on left and right defense, and also took shifts with different partners. Notably, he made a nice defensive play to kill a play in the D-zone. In the latter half of the period, the Flyers went to their second power play at 13:22 of the second period. Hathaway went to the net and drew a hooking penalty on Ross Johnston.  

Hard work by Cates resulted in another power lay at 17:09 as he was tripped up by Gauthier. Thirty-nine seconds later, Casey Cizikas committed an interference penalty, putting the Flyers on a 5-on-3 advantage. Philly's Konecny cashed it in to open a three-goal lead.

The Flyers continued to dominate the territorial battle in the second period. Shots on goal were 16-6 in Philly's favor (27-10 through 40 minutes). 

5) Trailing 5-2, the Islanders went back to the power play at 13:39 of the third period. Ryan Poehling accidentally shot the puck over the glass from the defensive zone, taking a delay of game penalty. With 5:15 remaining, York had the puck stolen from him near the defensive blueline by Cizikas and partner Andrae got caught on the wrong side of the puck. Hart made a big stop on Matthew Maggio.