Barzal scores in shootout, Islanders upend Flyers
UNIONDALE, N.Y. — Mathew Barzal scored in the shootout and the New York Islanders beat the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 on Saturday night, extending their dominant play at home.
Barzal scored in the fourth round of the shootout after Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin denied Flyers captain Claude Giroux’s chance to win the game. After Barzal scored, Sorokin then stopped Jakub Voracek to seal the win.
Sorokin made 30 saves in 65 minutes of play and improved to 9-3-1 on the season.
Anthony Beauvillier scored twice to give the Islanders a 2-0 lead entering the third period.
Giroux answered with a pair of goals to tie the score. Flyers netminder Carter Hart made 22 saves.
The Islanders continued their strong play at Nassau Coliseum, where they are 15-1-2 this season. They also kept pace with the Washington Capitals in the race for first place in the East Division with 52 points.
The Islanders are 16-4-1 in their last 21 games and 21-6-4 over their last 31 games. The Flyers continued their swoon with a 6-10-2 record since they were 11-4-3 on Feb. 28.
The Islanders also improved to 3-1 in shootouts this season.
Beauvillier opened the scoring beating Hart on the power play at 12:01 of the first. Matt Martin and Jordan Eberle assisted.
The 23-year-old forward scored again at 15:40 of the second, converting a pass from Barzal for his eighth goal of the season. Bazral has 21 assists and a teamleading 34 points overall. He has points in four straight games, including a five-point effort in Thursday’s 8-4 home win over Washington.
Giroux ruined Sorokin’s shutout bid with an unassisted goal at 6:38 of the third. The Flyers captain scored again at 10:32, his 11th goal of the season, with assists to Voracek and Travis Konecny.
The Flyers outshot the Islanders 10-3 in the opening period and failed to convert on a 5-on-3 advantage for more than a minute late in the period. In the second, the Flyers had a 11-7 shots advantage, but Sorokin continued his stellar play.
The Flyers were trying to rebound from a 6-1 road loss against the last-place Buffalo Sabres. But Philadelphia continued to slip further from the fourth and final playoff spot in the division currently held by the Boston Bruins.