The Philadelphia Flyers were not the opponent the New York Islanders wanted to see visit the Nassau Coliseum Saturday night. Losers of six straight games, the Isles had been especially listless in their last three contests, having been outscored 17-3. One of those losses came at the hands of the Flyers last week in Philadelphia, a humiliating 6-1 hammering. Add to this Philadelphia’s current five game winning streak, and the glaring 19-2-0 advantage the Flyers hold over them in their past 21 meetings, and it is easy to conclude that things did not bode well for the Isles entering into tonight’s play.
And so the night went. Andreas Nodl scored the game-winning goal for the Flyers with 6:25 left in the third period to give the Flyers a 2-1 victory and their sixth consecutive win. Meanwhile, the Islanders dreadful losing streak increased to seven games. With the score tied 1-1, Eric Wellwood unleashed a shot on goal which hit the mask of the upright Isles goaltender Dwayne Roloson. Nodl was right in the crease to scoop up the rebound and put the game-winner in the net. It was his third goal of the year.
Rookie netminder Sergei Bobrovsky was stellar once again for Philadelphia saving 31 shots. The Flyers were outshot 14-5 in the second period, but dominated the third, spending most of the period in the Islander zone. Bobrovsky made his only noticeable error when he cleared the puck over the boards for a game delaying penalty with less than two minutes remaining in the game. With Roloson on the bench and their net empty, the Isles tried to mount a comeback with a 6-on-4 man advantage, but were unable to score.
Mike Richards opened the scoring for the Flyers in the first period when he redirected a Chris Pronger shot past Roloson for his third goal of the season. The Isles Matt Moulson then tied the game in the second period on a wrist shot from the left circle after taking a beautiful feed from James Wisniewski. The power-play goal proved to be the only score the Isles could muster. It was Moulson’s sixth goal of the year.
The Isles have not led at any point during their current losing streak. All the losses have been in regulation, and they have not gained a point since October 21st, a 3-2 win in Tampa Bay. Since then, the team has had the most difficult time generating any type of offense. At least tonight they were in the game until the final buzzer. If they continue to play with the same intensity, the wins will eventually come.
Notes: The Flyers blocked 26 shots in the game…John Tavares has one goal, one assist, and a net -11 plus/minus since his hat trick in Florida against the Panthers on October 27.
