Monday night’s game one between the New York Islanders and Philadelphia Flyers resulted in a 4-0 Islander win at Scotiabank Arena in downtown Toronto.
Andy Greene’s blast from the blue line at 6:06 of the first period got the Islanders started with an early 1-0 lead. Even with a number of big stops from Carter Hart, the score would stay that way as New York entered the first intermission while leading in shots. They did so 15-4 and would start the second period with 1:24 of power play time.
New York failed to produce on the power play and Philadelphia began to push forward after a lousy opening frame. The Flyers would put up 15 shots themselves in the second, but still could not get a goal past veteran Semyon Varlamov. The Islanders allowed Philadelphia to swarm their zone for majority of the second, but held their ground, keeping the Flyers silent.
As New York has typically done all season long, the hockey club allows their system to take over. The Islanders’ mentality in this scenario is “bend, don’t break.”
The third period began with New York still holding the lead on Philadelphia, up 1-0. Following a dump into the corner and a battle up along the boards, Leo Komarov would scoop up the puck and fed Jean-Gabriel Pageau wide open in the slot. He did so to redirect it home which gave the Islanders a 2-0 lead.
Almost six minutes later, Mathew Barzal would lead a rush where Jordan Eberle fed the puck back to Barzal. The centreman would dish a cross-ice feed to Anders Lee which would triple their lead to make it 3-0 New York.
With under eight minutes remaining, the Flyers would pull Hart for the extra attacker. Devon Toews would use the boards to get the puck out of the defensive zone and into the empty net, this sealing a 4-0 win for the Islanders. For the third time so far this postseason, New York was tied with their opponent in shots, this time 29-29. Varlamov’s shutout streak would extend to two games and over 136 minutes.
Monday night’s win was the 67th playoff win for Islanders bench boss Barry Trotz. As such, he passes Lindy Ruff and Claude Julien for 15th on the all-time wins list. New York improves to a perfect 6-0 this postseason when scoring at least three goals in a game.
Monday night’s game was the 40th career playoff game for winger Josh Bailey as a member of the Islanders. Game two between New York and Philadelphia goes Wednesday at 3:00pm at Scotiabank Arena. The game is available for viewing on Sportsnet Ontario and NBCSN, meanwhile, it can be heard via radio on 97.5 The Fanatic and 88.7FM WRHU. The game will also be carried on TVA Sports to be watched in French.