Takeaways: Isles Shut Out by Flyers 2-0

The New York Islanders were shut out by the Philadelphia Flyers 2-0 in preseason action on Thursday night at Wells Fargo Center.

Erik Johnson broke an 0-0 tie at scored the game’s first goal at 4:36 of the third period and Matvei Michkov scored an empty-netter to ice the game at 18:57. Samuel Ersson stopped all 36 shots in the shutout, while Marcus Hogberg stopped 24-of-25 for the Isles.

Despite the loss, Head Coach Patrick Roy said he was happy with his team’s defensive structure in what was a low-scoring, low-event game.

“We didn't give much,” Roy said. “We had a lot of good chances, their goalie, actually both goalies, played really well. [Ersson] made some really good saves, we had great chances and we just couldn’t bear down on those one.”

The loss drops the Isles to 1-2-0 in preseason play, which continues on Friday night against New Jersey.

Hogberg Holds Up in First Full Start:

Marcus Hogberg looked sharp in his second start of the preseason, stopping 24-of-25 shots. The Swedish goalie was poised and patient in net, two traits he said he worked on during his three years overseas with Linköping HC.

The 29-year-old was able to track pucks in traffic and control his rebounds, as well as read the play. He showed good anticipation when poke-checking Travis Konecy’s cross-ice pass to Tyson Foerster in the first period.

Perhaps his best save came in the second period, when he stretched out to stop Matvei Michkov on the Flyers’ first power play. He was tested late in the period as well, but came up with a quality stop on Owen Tippett.

It was hard to fault Hogberg on the Flyers’ go-ahead goal, a broken play that deflected off Mayfield and the end boards to an open Johnson. All-in-all, a second quality start for Hogberg following up his half game in New Jersey.

“He played a really good game,” Roy said. “He's very patient in front of his net. I thought that he was reading plays very well, and they had a couple of good looks. He’s a big man, so when he's moving well and he reads play well, he covers a lot of space.”

Odelius Turns Heads in Preseason Debut

Calle Odelius made a positive impression in his first preseason game, with Roy praising his ability to move the puck and break the puck out by himself. That said, his best play of the night was intercepting a backdoor feed on a two-on-one rush in tight between Owen Tippett and Morgan Frost.

Roy said he thought the Swede didn’t get pushed around by a big Flyers team, which was an improvement even from the start of camp.

“I thought he was not getting pushed away, like maybe [he was] a bit at the beginning of the training camp,” Roy said. “So I see improvement, which I love.”

To that point, Odelius said he put on some “kilos” between last year and this year, but also feels more comfortable in his second camp.

“I'm more comfortable now, I know all the guys on the team, training stuff and all that,” Odelius said. “I'm feeling more comfortable this year playing with the guys, and it feels like steps forward.”

Odelius finished the game with 16:54 TOI, four blocked shot attempts, a hit, a giveaway and a blocked shot.

Odds and Ends:

- Mike Reilly skated in his first preseason game, logging 18:46 TOI with one shot on goal and seven total attempts. Reilly skated in a pairing with Scott Mayfield, as Roy looks to the prospective pair to get some reps together before the season starts.

- For Mayfield, Thursday was his third preseason game, making him the only Islanders player to suit up in the first three. That’s intentional, as Roy continues to ramp up the defenseman who hadn’t played since late February due to an ankle injury. Mayfield played 18:44 with two shots, two hits, two giveaways and a blocked shot.

- Kyle Palmieri sported an A on his jersey on Thursday night and a team-high five shots on goal.

- The Isles power play went 0-for-2 with five shots on goal, while the penalty kill went 1-for-1.

Next Game:

The Isles are back in preseason action on Friday night when they host the New Jersey Devils at UBS Arena. Puck drop is at 7 p.m.