3 Takeaways: Islanders Edge Flyers 2-1 for First Preseason Win 

The New York Islanders beat the Philadelphia Flyers 2-1 on Wednesday night at UBS Arena in their first preseason home game of 2023. 

Simon Holmstrom and Julien Gauthier lit the lamp for the Islanders, holding the 2-0 lead through 57 minutes before Ryan Poehling got the Flyers on the board. 

Though the win didn’t officially count for two points, the Islanders saw some progress from Tuesday’s loss and the matchup allowed for a fresh roster of Islanders to get a taste of the preseason.

GAUTHIER GETS GAME-WNNER IN ISLES DEBUT

Julien Gauthier donned an Islanders jersey for the first time in his career in a game setting, showing his offensive ability and speed in the preseason. 

The 25-year-old winger scored on the power play in the middle frame, netting the eventual game-winning goal, firing off a shot from the circle to extend the Islanders lead to 2-0. 

“It was fun to get the opportunity to get on the power play and show my shot,” Gauthier said. “[Eetu] Liukas made a great screenplay. I didn’t have a lot of time to play around with it so I went top left and took the shot as quickly as I could.” 

He registered two hits and six shots (two on goal, three attempted and one missed) and skated 14:20 on a line with Ruslan Iskhakov and Casey Cizikas. His outing earned praise from Head Coach Lane Lambert on Wednesday night.  

"He was hard on pucks and he was physical," Lambert said of Gauthier. "As I've said from day one, one thing I've noticed about him is that he can shoot the puck. He scored, he hit the goalpost, so I thought he showed pretty well tonight."

WAHLSTROM RETURNS TO GAME ACTION

It was an important night for Oliver Wahlstrom, who played an NHL game for the first time since Dec. 27, when he suffered a season-ending knee injury. 

"I thought there was spurts when he when he looked good,” Lambert said. “I thought he competed and I thought he battled. Again, it's his first game since December, so there's always room for improvement."

In his first game back after a nine-month recovery, the 23-year-old winger skated 17:20 on a line with Dmytro Timashov and Karson Kuhlman. Wahlstrom pointed out he felt comfortable on the ice while adjusting back to a game atmosphere. 

“I’m really excited to be back in this arena for sure and being with the guys out there,” Wahlstrom said. “Honestly, I felt pretty good. Each game is going to get faster and I’m going to adjust to it. For me right now, it's just one foot after the other and keep going.”

SOROKIN STARTS, APPLEBY FINISHES

Ilya Sorokin started in net for the Islanders, stopping all 13 shots faced in his first game of the preseason. Ken Appleby entered the game halfway through, allowing one goal in 18 shots faced.

Felix Sandstrom allowed one goal in six shots for the Flyers, while Samuel Ersson turned away 12 of 13 shots faced.

NEXT GAME

The Islanders preseason continues on Friday night when they host the New York Rangers at UBS Arena. Puck drop is at 7 p.m.