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Live Blog: Flyers 3, Islanders 2, Final |
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0:25 Time ticking down. Isles having trouble getting organized with Danis pulled. Icing by the Flyers gives them one more chance to set something up with 10 seconds left.
1:01 Open shot by Hillen gloved by Biron. Timeout Islanders. They'll have to scramble for the tying goal now.
3:09 If I were to hand out letter grades for each period, at this point they would get an A- for the first, a C for the second, and a B- for third.
4:42 Good effort by a diving Martinek to break up a possible one-on-the-goalie chance.
5:54 The Devils have defeated Carolina, but the Flyers still need to move ahead in points as they lose tiebreakers with both the Hurricanes and the Penguins should they finish tied.
7:59 Terrific job by Danis getting the left pad across on a 2-on-1 and then reaching out from inside the goal to cover the puck as it sat on the doorstep.
12:43 Good sequence of pressure from the Isles. Okposo, Bergenheim and Nielsen came in on a rush but never could get off a good quality shot. Then Streit snuck in from the point and had a good angle on Biron, except for the fact that he was on his backhand and seemed to get jammed up a bit with the puck too close to his body.
15:19 Isles will have to kill off an Okposo hooking penalty here.
16:29 Witt was just led off the ice by Martinek, but it looked like the assistance was due to a skate issue more than an injury.
17:40 If you're into tracking ice time, through two period Rechlicz has skated 6 shifts and 3:19, and Fritz has only taken 1 shift, which lasted 24 seconds.
THIRD PERIOD
2nd Intermission: Ms. Crinkles, the Nathan's skating bag of fries, delivers a mean hip check. Sparky may never be the same.
The Islanders certainly did not carry over their level of play from the first period to the second. They'll have to keep the feet moving better in the third if they're going to keep up with the Flyers and generate enough of their own scoring chances to have a shot at winning this.
0:30 Good low, hard shot by Witt, turned aside by Biron's left pad.
1:30 Bergenheim received a pass down low with his back to the goal. He could have turned for a shot but decided to pass instead. Pass misses its target.
3:41 Gagne converts Philly's second toe-drag goal of the game beating Danis with a wrist shot. Flyers lead 3-2.
4:33 Tim Jackman with the quick-release wrister beats Biron along the ice on the glove side. Assists to Nielsen and Bailey. Tied 2-2.
9:09 Flyers show the Islanders how to get it done on the power play: get the puck to the front of the next and then bang it in off a scramble. Knuble gets the tally from Gagne and Briere. Flyers lead 2-1.
9:33 The refs will send Okposo to the box here for hooking. It looked like they could have called a holding the stick on the Flyer as well.
11:41 Weight, Streit, and Okposo all ended up near the top of the zone for a bit there. The two remaining forwards were left outnumbered to fight for the puck and Philly cleared.
12:41 Isles will try to get this power play going again. Gagne off for slashing.
13:35 Bergenheim with a half-slapper from the top of the right circle toward Weight, who gets a hard redirection in on Biron. Good play, no goal.
14:56 There's Lupul again. Ridiculous wrist shot beats Danis. Tied 1-1.
16:21 Isles now killing off an interference penalty to Bailey. Park and Hilbert reunited up front on the kill.
16:43 Should mention that Danis is playing well, tracking the puck well. He's faced a number of shots that changed direction on the way in and stuck with them all.
19:30 Bergenheim unable to handle a feed in front of the net but does a terrific job fighting to gain possession of the puck and keep the power play pressure going. Penalty now expired.
SECOND PERIOD
1st Intermission: Whether you attribute it to the returns of Okposo and Hilbert or the return to home ice, this Islander team looks much different than the one you saw the previous two games. The passing and hits are crisp, the energy is there, and except for a couple of loose Flyers along the way, the defensive coverage has been on the spot. This looks like the team that has gone 14-16-5 over the last 35 games.
00.0 The quick breakout led to another power play odd-man rush but we'll go to the intermission still 1-0.
1:08 Isles will close the period on the power play thanks to a Powe delay of game.
3:52 Exciting sequence with Okposo breaking in from the blue line, being thwarted, the puck goes back to Gervais who pulled out some serious moves to close in on Biron before shooting wide.
5:08 Video board recognition for Joey MacDonald, whose diving save against Mikael Samuelsson was voted Save of the Year on NHL.com.
5:54 Bergenhiem answers the call. Beautiful feed from Weight that #20 reaches for to deflect a backhander by Biron. Secondary assist to Gervais on a nice breakout pass. That's Bergenheim's 15th of the season. Isles lead 1-0.
7:05 Park and Tambellini go in on an awkwardly set up 2-on-1 with Tambellini taking the shot. The play developed into a rebound that Martinek fired while moving in. Good save by Biron to keep the game scoreless.
8:24 The Flyers have had two good scoring opportunities, one shorthanded, where the Islanders were fortunate that the pass to an open man missed the mark.
10:00 Power play ends with Tambellini getting into good position for a deflection but Biron was there to stop it.
11:28 Weight, Streit, and Okposo are all on the first unit. Both forwards took a turn playing up high with Streit.
12:06 Good pressure by the Isles results in their first power play opportunity as Mike Knuble goes off for hooking.
13:00 Joffrey Lupul, who gave the Isles fits in the Flyers' last trip to the Coliseum, broke through the slot but didn't get off a good enough shot to really trouble Danis.
13:43 Thompson gets his second good look at Biron but can't put it over the goalie's shoulder.
15:55 And now with Nielsen on the ice between Tambellini and Park, it's to start looking for Kyle Okposo on the bench. Ah, and there he is hopping over the boards with Doug Weight and Sean Bergenheim. This could be a fun line to watch.
16:45 Bailey centering Hilbert and Jackman now.
18:01 Joel Rechlicz is on for an early shift with Thompson and Park. Note that Riley Cote is not in the lineup for the Flyers.
19:31 We have a good-sized crowd here today, very enthusiastic as well. It's almost as if the fans are expecting John Tavares to become an Islander this afternoon.
20:00 Yann Danis gets the nod in goal today.
FIRST PERIOD
Pre-game: Doug Weight is the recipient of this year's Good Guy Award.
****
It's Saturday afternoon action here at the Coliseum as the Flyers and Islanders meet for the final time this season. The Islanders are 0-3-2 against Philadelphia this season and going back to last year are 1-9-3 in the last 13 meetings.
For the Flyers, there is still much to play for. Philly enters today's action tied with Carolina and Pittsburgh for the 4th spot in the Eastern Conference with home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs on the line. All three teams currently have 97 points. Carolina is underway at New Jersey already and Pittsburgh will take on the Canadiens tonight in Montreal.
The Flyers have the edge of two games remaining. The Hurricanes and Penguins conclude their regular seasons today.
The Islanders will look for their 27th win of the season this afternoon. Kyle Okposo, Andy Hilbert, Joel Rechlicz, and Mitch Fritz are on the ice for warmups. The man-games lost to injury now stands at 568. Games lost to illness total nine, with no update available on Dean McAmmond.
We're about a half hour away from the opening draw. Let's see if Okposo and Sean Bergenheim can wake up this offense and lead the Isles toward improving their 17-16-6 record on home ice. Stay tuned for live coverage of the action...
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