The Islanders invaded the land of Tastykakes for the last time this year in search of a playoff birth. Coming into the game, the Islanders magic number was a single point which meant that any combination of a point gained by New York or lost by Ottawa would clinch the playoffs for the blue and orange. On Tuesday evening, while the Islanders were in the city of brotherly love, the Senators were hosting the struggling Pittsburgh Penguins north of the border.
The Philadelphia Flyers have been eliminated from playoff contention for quite a while with 82 points (32-29-18), however, they have been playing the opposition tough, going undefeated in the last six games, including two gritty wins against the Penguins. An interesting side note to the game was that an Islanders win would also represent the first sweep of a season series against the Flyers in team history. Referencing a statistic like that one tends to come back to bite you later on.
Matt Martin and Frans Nielsen did not make the trip to Philadelphia as they were both nursing injuries. That meant that Michael Grabner and Colin McDonald were rescued from purgatory and would see some game action after a long spell of healthy scratches. In addition, at the last minute, Cal Clutterbuck was scratched with an undisclosed injury paving the way for Tyler Kennedy to get back in the lineup as well. The lines were juggled a bit to accommodate all of the changes. John Tavares centered the top line with Kulemin and Strome; Josh Bailey was moved back to center Lee and Okposo; Brock Nelson was in the middle for Grabner and Kennedy; and, Czikas was in-between Boulton and McDonald.
The Islanders were back on their heels to start the game. The Flyers dominated play in the New York zone. Eric Boulton made his presence felt with a vicious shoulder to shoulder hit behind the Flyers net. Ryan White then challenged Boults to a short fight and received an extra two minute instigator penalty. On the ensuing power play, the Flyers shot the puck over the glass in their own end which gave the Islanders a lengthy five on three advantage. The Flyers killed off both penalties to keep the game scoreless.
A little bit later on in the period, the Flyers got their own chance at a five on three when Thomas Hickey was called for holding and Johnny Boychuk got caught tripping. The Islanders did a good job throughout the kill, but right at the end Claude Giroux got the puck to the right of Halak from old friend Mark Streit and fired a Chocolate Junior right past Halak for a 1-0 lead. Later in the period, Giroux got another feed from Streit in the slot and buried another Chocolate Junior to make it 2-0. To add insult to injury, both goals were assisted by Voracek who leapfrogged over John Tavares in the chase for the Art Ross trophy. Islanders out shot the Flyers 15-10, but a couple of mistakes cost them.
After getting out-chanced in the first period, the Islanders had the better scoring chances early in the second. The Islanders got a pair of power plays, the second one when Tavares led a break and found Travis Hamonic in front of the net. Hamonic tried to shovel the puck past Steve Mason, but was hooked by old friend Mark Streit. On the power play, Ryan Strome launched a hard shot to the front of the net that was tipped home by John Tavares to cut the Flyer lead in half. It was the captain's 36th goal of the year with Leddy getting the second assist.
The Islanders nearly tied the game immediately after the Tavares goal, but a few minutes later, the Flyers scored again when Pierre-Edouard Bellemore. snuck a Butterscotch Krimpet past Halak to give the Flyers their two goal lead back at 3-1. Through two periods the Islanders dominated the shot clock 30-18 and had as many if not more chances than the Flyers. The difference was Steve Mason who was downright solid through the first forty minutes. All the Islanders needed in the third period was some puck luck.
Early in the third the Islanders dug themselves a bigger hole. Grabner and Kennedy tried to leave the New York zone in order to get a break the other way, but Brock Nelson gave the puck away and that enabled Carlo Colaiacovo to wrist a Koffee Kake top shelf to give the Flyers a three goal lead at 4-1. I had pretty much given up at that point and was poised to switch the channel. As I scrolled through the cable guide, Anders Lee got the puck off of a rebound from Josh Bailey and fired it past Mason to cut the lead in half at 4-2. It was Lee's 24th goal of the year and his first in ten games. Lubomir Visnovsky got the second helper. There was still about a dozen minutes to go in the game.
I still was not convinced that anything else of substance was about to happen and continued to look for alternative entertainment. The Islanders got some chances and when they got a late power play and failed to convert it seemed to be all over.. Then as I was about to switch the channel once again Johnny Boychuck sizzled a slapper past Mason to make it 4-3 with a little less than two minutes to go. It was Boychuk's 9th goal of the year and Tavares got the assist. At that point my interest peaked a little bit.
After a couple of icings by the Flyers, the Islanders had an offensive zone face-off with a half a minute to go in the game. On a set play, Tavares drew the puck back and shoved to the slot for a waiting Anders Lee who stick-handled the puck and then put it past Mason to tie the game at four apiece. It was an amazing comeback. Lee's second goal of the game was his 25th of the year. The assist by Tavares gave him three points in the game and left him a single point and in second place behind Sidney Crosby for the scoring lead.
The Islanders were only 28 seconds away from a point and a playoff spot. After the center ice face-off the puck was pushed into the Philadelphia zone. All they needed to do was play keep away for a few seconds and the playoff box could be checked off. The puck then found its way to center ice and Brayden Schenn innocently skated across the blue line and just fired an Glazed Honey Bun right on Halak. Jaroslav fumbled it and it went in the net to give the Flyers the win 5-4 with two seconds left. Every Islander was as stunned and shocked as they could possibly be. I started to shake uncontrollably at that point. To channeled Vin Scully from the 1988 World Series and thought "I don't believe what I just saw!"
What a heart-breaking defeat. The Islanders made a gallant effort overcoming so many last second injuries. The goal that Halak gave up was very Fluery-esque. He took full responsibility after the game. To make matters worse, the Penguins choked by giving up a three goal lead and losing to the Senators in overtime. The Islanders outshot the Flyers 40-27 and came back from three goals late in the game. But a lack of focus and a bad bounce did them in. There was no season sweep of Philadelphia in the making. There was no playoff box to be checked off on this night either.
This game made you stop and wonder if it is just not meant to be, After a disappointing loss like this one there is one of two things that could happen. The Islanders can turtle and limp into the playoffs and lose convincingly in the first round or they can pick themselves up off of the ice and be more determined than ever. Its gut check time on the Long Island.
Its about an hour after the game. I am still sick to my stomach and I can't stop shaking. The anger is almost overwhelming. There is a very bad taste in my mouth and it won't go away anytime soon. They say that time heals all wounds. In this case, time can't pass fast enough.
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