Flyers Roll Past Islanders in Preseason Finale

The next time the Flyers take the ice, the games count. But Thursday provided one final tune-up before then.

Against a New York Islanders roster that was without many regulars, the Flyers had their biggest offensive output of the preseason. They scored twice in the first and twice in the second on their way to a 5-2 win at Wells Fargo Center.

The Islanders got on the board first at 9:54 of the opening period. The puck bounced over the stick of Travis Sanheim, allowing Karson Kuhlman to head the other way on a breakaway. He waited out Carter Hart and scored to make it 1-0 Islanders.

The Flyers tied the game at 15:15. An impressive shift by the fourth line was capped off by Nick Deslauriers getting the goal off a nice pass from behind the net by Garnet Hathaway.

Just 1:09 later, the Flyers took the lead. Noah Cates blocked a shot to start a rush. As Travis Konecny caught up to it, Cates went to the net. Konecny threaded a pass to the front of the net where Cates was for the tip-in.

Through 20 minutes, shots were 11-4 Flyers.

The Flyers added to the lead at 8:14 of the second. Some quick passing in their own zone got the puck to Morgan Frost, who led a pass to Owen Tippett for a breakaway. Tippett's first chance was stopped by Semyon Varlamov, but he quickly put home the rebound to make it 3-1.

With under two minutes to play, the Flyers were on a 5-on-3 and used the opportunity to add to the lead again. Konecny scored from the slot after a nice passing play by Sean Couturier and Cam York to make it 4-1 with 1:15 remaining in the period.

After two periods, the Flyers had a 27-10 lead in shots.

The Islanders got to within two at 5:45 of the third. A turnover behind the net by Hart allowed the Islanders to work the puck in front to Brian Pinho for the goal to make it 4-2.

Less than two minutes later at 7:41, the Flyers got the goal back as Frost set up Cam Atkinson for his second goal of the preseason.

Hart finished with 14 saves on 16 shots in the win. Varlamov made 26 saves on 31 shots in the loss.

Frost had two assists for the Flyers for the second straight game. Konecny had a goal and an assist. Eleven different players had points for the Flyers.

Next up is the season opener for the Flyers, as they will travel to face the Columbus Blue Jackets next Thursday at 7 p.m.

Box Score

Scoring Summary

1st Period

• NYI Karson Kuhlman (1) (Unassisted) 9:54
• PHI Nick Deslauriers (1) (Garnet Hathaway, Travis Sanheim) 15:15
• PHI Noah Cates (1) (Travis Konecny) 16:24

2nd Period

• PHI Owen Tippett (1) (Morgan Frost, Tyson Foerster) 8:41
• PHI Konecny (2) PP (Sean Couturier, Cam York) 18:45

3rd Period

• NYI Brian Pinho (1) (Oliver Wahlstrom, Arnaud Durandeau) 5:45
• PHI Cam Atkinson (2) (Frost) 7:41

Game Statistics

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