Horvat ties it with 1:01 left in 3rd for New York; Foerster scores twice for Philadelphia
Islanders at Flyers | Recap
By Adam Kimelman
@NHLAdamK NHL.com Deputy Managing Editor
PHILADELPHIA -- The New York Islanders were eliminated from Stanley Cup Playoff contention with a 4-3 shootout loss to the Philadelphia Flyers at Wells Fargo Center on Saturday.
Bo Horvat tied it 3-3 for the Islanders with 1:01 remaining in the third period with goalie Marcus Hogberg pulled for the extra skater. Bobby Brink then scored the only goal of the shootout in the fifth round to help win it for Philadelphia.
"This isn't a place we want to be," Islanders captain Anders Lee said. "It was and has been a year where we left games on the table. We fought through a lot of adversity and did our best to keep our foot in and give ourselves a chance the last 15 games. But stretches of time that lasted a game or two too long and put us in a spot where it was out of our control. So it's disappointing, no doubt, to not have a go at this thing."
Tyson Foerster scored twice, Jakob Pelletier also scored, and Owen Tippett had two assists for the Flyers (33-37-9), who have won five of six (5-1-0). Samuel Ersson made 37 saves.
"I thought we had a good team effort in the third," Foerster said. "Thought we were a little sloppy in the first and second. But we came out in the third and scored a bunch of goals, so it was good."
NYI@PHI: Brink, Ersson lead Flyers to shootout win
Horvat, Lee and Noah Dobson each had a goal and an assist for New York (34-33-12), which has lost nine of 11 (2-5-4) and will miss the playoffs for the first time in three seasons. Hogberg made 19 saves.
"Today I thought we played a good game," Islanders coach Patrick Roy said. "We gave up two goals in the third period, [the Flyers] made great execution on the second one, and the third one we just lost the coverage. Other than this, Marcus gave us a chance to win in overtime, and we can't just score that goal that would win the game for us."
Foerster put the Flyers ahead 1-0 with a power-play goal at 3:28 of the second period. The forward skated through the crease and lifted a backhand under the crossbar.
Lee tied it 1-1 with a power-play goal at 10:54 when he tipped a Dobson shot past Ersson.
Dobson gave the Islanders a 2-1 lead at 17:58, scoring off a behind-the-back pass from Horvat.
Pelletier tied it 2-2 at 4:29 of the third period after finishing a breakout with Tippett and Ryan Poehling, sliding a puck between Hogberg's pads.
Foerster’s second goal of the game put Philadelphia ahead 3-2 at 10:34 when he scored from the slot.
It was the forward's sixth goal during a three-game streak, and eighth in his past six. Before this current run he had two goals in his previous 17 games.
"More of just pucks are going in for me right now," Foerster said. "So it feels good."
NYI@PHI: Tippett, Foerster team up for the lead
Flyers coach Brad Shaw said he's been impressed with how Foerster has stayed within the team's structure to find his opportunities.
"I think he's always a very conscientious player as far as the 200-foot game," he said. "I think, like most goal-scorers, when one goes in they start to feel a little bit better. And then when it gets to two and three, they start to feel like the next shot's going in a little bit more than maybe when they weren't scoring.
“I like how he earns his success. I like how he doesn't cheat to get his success. That's not an easy thing to do on a regular basis. Real good sign from a young guy that's showing that he's going to be a good pro and a good player for a long time."
After Horvat tied the game late in the third, Roy thought the Islanders had taken back the momentum.
"I thought we were the better team on the ice all day long," he said. "... I thought we deserved to score. And that's what I said to Bo on the bench, I said, ‘We deserve a goal here. We deserve to come out at least with one point, if not give ourselves a chance to win the two points.’
"We had a chance in overtime; they had chances as well. In the shootout, we had two chances to win the game, and we just didn't do it."
NOTES: Islanders forward Pierre Engvall was helped off the ice with 3:04 remaining in the third period. He returned to the bench during overtime but did not play. ... Flyers forward Matvei Michkov had an assist on Foerster's first goal to give him 60 points (24 goals, 36 assists) this season. He's the first Philadelphia rookie with at least 60 points since Mikael Renberg had 82 in 1993-94. ... Poehling has nine points (four goals, five assists) during a five-game streak. ... New York forward Simon Holmstrom had his four-game point streak end (three goals, four assists).
