Myers scores early in OT, Flyers even series
Phillippe Myers scored 2:40 into overtime to give the Philadelphia Flyers a 4-3 victory over the New York Islanders on Wednesday, tying the second-round playoff series at a game apiece.
The Islanders overall a 3-0 first-period deficit, with Jean-Gabriel Pageau getting the tying goal with 2:09 left in regulation.
Myers ended it quickly, connecting on a shot from the right point that glanced off the stick of the Islanders’ Anders Lee on the way in.
Kevin Hayes scored twice in the first period for Philadelphia, Sean Couturier also had a goal, and Carter Hart made 31 saves.
Lee and Anthony Beauvillier also scored for the Islanders. Semyon Varlamov had seven saves before he was benched late in the first period. Thomas Greiss finished with 20 stops the rest of the way.
The Flyers scored three times in the first 15:09, chasing Varlamov. He had shut them out in Game 1 and built an Islanders’ playoff record shutout streak of 138:17 before Philadelphia broke through in the first period. Game 3 is tonight. The Flyers, the top seed in the Eastern Conference, sorely needed more production from their top goalscorers and finally got it.
Hayes scored off a rush with a wrister from the left circle that rattled in off the post 1:57 into the game. Hayes got his second when he beat Varlamov with a sharp-angle shot from the left at 9:43.
Couturier followed later in the period with a slick one, picking up the puck in the neutral zone, slipping around defenseman Nick Leddy and deking Varlamov. That’s when Greiss was sent in to make his playoff debut in relief of Varlamov. LIGHTNING 7, BRUINS 1 >> Nikita Kucherov collected one goal and three assists to lead the Lightning over Boston, giving Tampa Bay a 2-1 lead in an Eastern Conference semifinal series in
Toronto.
Alex Killorn, Brayden Point and Mikhail Sergachev had three-point games for the Lightning, who won on consecutive nights. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 23 saves in the win.
Game 4 is Friday. CANUCKS CRUISE, EVEN SERIES 1-1 >> Bo Horvat scored twice, and Tyler Toffoli and Elias Pettersson each had a goal and two assists to lead the Vancouver Canucks to a 5-2 win over the Vegas Golden Knights late Tuesday, evening their Western Conference semifinal series at one game apiece in Edmonton, Alberta.
BLUES’ TARASENKO SET FOR
3RD SHOULDER SURGERY >> St. Louis Blues winger Vladimir Tarasenko is in jeopardy of missing the start of next season because he is facing shoulder surgery for the third time in less than three years.
General manager Doug Armstrong said the 28-yearold Russian is scheduled to have another operation on his left shoulder and won’t be re-evaluated until five months after surgery. COYOTES STRIPPED OF 2
PICKS FOR VIOLATING COMBINE POLICY >> The NHL stripped the Arizona Coyotes of their 2020 secondround pick and 2021 firstround pick for violating the scouting combine policy by conducting physical tests of draft-eligible players. Commissioner Gary Bettman determined the organization broke the rules by physically testing prospects outside of the combine, which is prohibited.