Philadelphia- The Flyers pulled off a gritty home win midday Saturday, edging the Islanders 4-3 in a shootout at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
First Period
The Islanders struck first. Short-handed, Simon Holmström intercepted a pass and scored at 9:51 of the first period to give New York the 1-0 lead. The Flyers generated pressure but couldn’t capitalize before intermission.
Second Period
New York doubled its lead early in the second when Anthony Duclair tapped home a feed from Marshall Warren at 6:15. Philadelphia finally answered midway through the frame as Christian Dvorák converted a setup from Trevor Zegras to make it 2-1. From there, the Flyers’ pace and confidence began to shift.
Third Period
Early in the third, Zegras tied it 2-2 with a quick wrister from the right circle. The Islanders briefly regained the lead when Maxim Tsyplakov redirected a point shot past Samuel Ersson, but Philadelphia responded quickly - Zegras cleaned up a rebound on the power play at 7:32 to even the score again at 3-3.
Overtime & Shootout
Overtime couldn’t decide it, so the game went to a shootout. Zegras scored low blocker, and rookie Matvei Michkov sealed it with the deciding goal.
Between the pipes, Samuel Ersson made the most of his opportunity. Although he hasn’t seen as much ice time lately with Daniel Vladar taking more starts, Ersson reminded everyone why he’s still a reliable option - flashing the leather on a few key glove saves in the third period and standing tall through overtime. He then kept his composure in the shootout, stopping both Islanders attempts to preserve the win.