GO THE DISTANCE
Flyers force Game 7
FLYERS 5
ISLANDERS 4
TORONTO — Ivan Provorov scored at 15:03 of the second overtime and the Flyers beat the Islanders, 5-4, on Thursday night to force a deciding Game 7.
Kevin Hayes, James van Riemsdyk, Michael Raffl and Scott Laughton also scored for Philadelphia, and Carter Hart stopped a career-high 49 shots. The Flyers won a third overtime game in a postseason series for the first time.
Mathew Barzal and Derick Brassard each notched a goal and an assist, and Anders Lee and Matt Martin also scored for the Islanders, who trailed 2-0 midway through the first period before taking leads of 3-2 and 4-3. Semyon Varlamov stopped 26 shots.
Game 7 is Saturday, with the winner advancing to face Tampa Bay in the conference finals
Philadelphia had a chance on a flurry in front of the Islanders’ net early in the second overtime, but Varlamov stopped the shot and defenseman Adam Pelech dove at the loose puck to keep it out with his stick and glove.
After Pelech lost the puck on a shot attempt when his stick broke, the Flyers pushed it up the ice and Provorov got a pass from Hayes and beat Varlamov.
Hart stopped 38 shots in regulation.
Laughton, who scored the overtime winner in Game 5 on Tuesday night, tied the game, 4-4. He brought the puck up the left side on a rush, went forehand-backhand-forehand and beat Varlamov at 9:53 of the third.
The Islanders had a flurry of chances during a power play late in regulation, but Hart stopped two slap shots by Ryan Pulock, and tries by Barzal and Lee — all in the span of 11 seconds.
The Flyers got an emotional lift from the return of left wing Oskar Lindblom for the first time since Dec. 7. The 24-year-old was diagnosed with a bone cancer and was undergoing radiation treatments that finished July 2. He rejoined the team in Toronto last month during the Flyers’ series against Montreal.