Before getting into the recap of yesterday’s game, it’s important to note that tonight’s NHL games, including Game 3 between the New York Islanders and Philadelphia Flyers, will be postponed in protest over the police shooting of Jacob Blake.
Breaking: The NHL will not play any playoff games Thursday in solidarity with other leagues protesting the recent police shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin, sources confirm to @emilymkaplan. pic.twitter.com/WKESkdHAuI
In terms of the game itself, the New York Islanders mounted a great comeback but fell short, losing in overtime to the Flyers in Game 2.
Despite being down 3-0 after the first period, I really don’t think the Islanders were being outplayed by much, if at all. The first goal was a nice shot by Kevin Hayes but was one that Semyon Varlamov certainly could’ve had. He was deep in his net and seemed like he almost wasn’t prepared for the shot or at least really wasn’t expecting Hayes to go blocker side.
Then Ryan Pulock got caught and Kevin Hayes went in to bury another goal on the blocker side and Varlamov looked very off on this one. Once again, he just wasn’t square to the puck and looked to be anticipating a pass.
Then there was that third goal and oh my, what was Nick Leddy doing. I really do think Leddy has taken some huge steps defensively in the last two years and it’s nice that moments like his failed attempt to take the man on the third goal are now few and far between. But that was bad.
Then from the second period onwards, New York was the better team. They started the period a bit slow and had to kill a penalty but after that, they were getting some great chances and controlling most of the play. Anders Lee got New York on the scoreboard but Carter Hart made other big saves on both Lee and Casey Cizikas to prevent the Islanders from getting closer.
The third period was all Islanders, with them outshooting the Flyers 15-8 in the frame. Anthony Beauvillier and Jean-Gabriel Pageau each scored to bring the game back to a tie, then the Islanders had a golden power play opportunity with just a couple of minutes left, after Philadelphia lost the offside challenge and were charged with a bench minor as a result. New York couldn’t capitalize and as a result, the game went to overtime. There, a point shot from Philippe Myers took a wild deflection and handcuffed Thomas Greiss to tie the series.
I was really happy with how the Islanders played overall and it was nice to see them battle back, even if they didn’t get the win. The fact is, they still got the better chances and goaltending was a huge difference-maker.
There was a good effort level from just about the entire team and if Varlamov had been able to keep out just one of those early goals, it could’ve been a different game.
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Here’s today’s poll question (results and discussion will be posted in a future article):
Were you happy with New York's performance in Game 2?
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