Flyers Fall Short Against Islanders

There was progress for the Flyers from the preseason opener on Monday. They did not allow four goals in the first six minutes. The struggles to score, though, continued throughout the second game of the preseason on Wednesday.

For the second straight game, the Flyers went deep into the third without a goal. They managed one, but could not get the equalizer, falling to the New York Islanders, 2-1, at UBS Arena on Wednesday night.

The Islanders got on the board first at 12:38. A shot by Travis Mitchell was deflected twice, first by Mathew Barzal and then by Simon Holmstrom for the opening goal.

Through 20 minutes, shots were 9-6 Flyers.

Felix Sandstrom started the game for the Flyers in goal and made five saves on six shots in the opening period.

The only goal of the second period came on the power play. After a failed clear, a bounce came to Julien Gauthier who fired the shot past Sam Ersson to make it 2-0 at the 14-minute mark.

Through two periods, shots were 18-16 Flyers.

The Flyers out-shot the Islanders, 12-3, in the third period, but could not solve Ken Appleby until there was just 2:22 remaining. Ryan Poehling scored the only goal for the Flyers, cutting the lead to one with the goalie pulled.

Ersson made 12 saves on 13 shots in the final two periods. Ilya Sorokin stopped all 12 shots he faced in the first half of the game. Appleby made 17 saves on 18 shots.

The Flyers return to the ice for practice on Thursday. They continue preseason play on Friday night with their final road game against the Boston Bruins at 7 p.m.

Box Score

Scoring Summary

1st Period

• NYI Simon Holmstrom (1) (Mathew Barzal, Travis Mitchell) 12:38

2nd Period

• NYI Julien Gauthier (1) PP (Robin Salo, Holmstrom) 14:00

3rd Period

• PHI Ryan Poehling (1) (Noah Cates, Scott Laughton) 17:38

Game Statistics

Kevin Durso is Flyers insider for 97.3 ESPN. Follow him on social media @Kevin_Durso.