Philly is definitely in a “Fly or Die” situation tonight versus the Islanders. Flyers have to do whatever it takes to force a game 7. Carter Hart sits in between the pipes. The great news for Philly is Oskar Lindblom is ready to play tonight. After fighting cancer he returns to play for the first time since December. He 2 months and one day since completing his treatment. Sean Couturier is out for the game.
Period 1
The Flyers strike first. Halfway through Kevin Hayes puts Philly up 1-0. He went top shelf after stealing the puck in the neutral zone. Assists from Konecny and Hagg. A couple of minutes later James Van Riemsdyk makes it 2-0. After New York turns the puck over a slapshot lands the puck behind Semyon Varlamov. Assists belong to Voracek and Sanheim. The Islanders will not go quietly. Derick Brassard puts New York on the board with redirect directly after the powerplay ended. Things get chippy as intermission comes up. It ends 2-1 Flyers.
Period 2
The energy shifts at the beginning of the second period. Matt Martin ties the game for New York. Alain Vigneault makes a questionable challenge on the goal causing a New York power play. This ends up severely hurting the Flyers. Anders Lee capitalizes on a breakaway and gives the Islanders the lead, 3-2.
Flyers take advantage of a puck off the netminder’s pads when Michael Raffl ties the game up at 3-3. Assists belong to Abue-Kubel and Provorov. With only 30 seconds left in the second period, Matt Barzal gives the Islanders the lead again after Sanhiem turns the puck over in front of Carter Hart. The second ends 4-3 Islanders.
Period 3
The beginning of the third belongs to the Islanders. They keep the Flyers off balance for the first 10 minutes. Scott Laughton was the hero of Game 5 and now tied up game 6. He had a breakaway goal that got passed Semyon Varlamov. The assist belongs to Claude Giroux. The Flyers are able to hold off the Islanders in the third and force overtime action.
Overtime
The first overtime period was full of “Hart-Stopping” moments. The shots on goal differential favor the Islanders by a large deficit. This brings on OT2. FLYERS FORCE A GAME 7. Provorov sends a bullet through the goal. Game 7 comes Saturday at 7:30 PM.
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Al is one of the two co-creators of Edge of Philly Sports. Al started radio and podcasting in 2012 and covering sports in 2015. A lifelong Philly sports fan since watching the Eagles, Phillies, Sixers, and Flyers with his grandfathers at age 7. Al always looks at the other side of the hot topics and gives his different outlook on those topics. Web and Graphic Design.
