Philadelphia
Flyers vs. New York Islanders
Wells
Fargo Center, Philadelphia
March
23, 2019
Game
Time – 1 p.m.
Pregame
The
Philadelphia
Flyers
(36-30-8, 80 points) entered the game in sixth place in the Eastern
Conference's Metropolitan Division, likely needing to win all of the
team's remaining eight games, while also seeing a number of other
teams play below .500 prior to the end of the season in order to make
the postseason. The New York
Islanders (42-25-7, 91 points) were in second place in the Metro,
nearly certain to clinch a playoff spot in the very near future.
The
Flyers, who were in the midst of a solid two-month run, beat the
Islanders in consecutive road games earlier this month, March 3 (4-1)
and March 9 (5-2). Today's game is the final game of the season
series, with New York winning the first contest (6-1) in Philadelphia
on October 27, 2018, during the Ron Hextall and Dave Hakstol era.
Starting
goalies: Flyers – Carter Hart. Islanders – Robin Lehner.
Other
pregame tidbits – A Jake Voracek-Johnny Boychuk Wrestlemania redux
could be in order, assuming both men are in the lineup and are open
to a rematch (which proved true).
Flyers
entered the game as the only National Hockey League team with
identical home and road records (18-5-4).
On
a personal note...
The
transformation of the interior of the Wells Fargo Center is currently
creating logjams at the elevators that transport stadium personnel
and media medias from the lower level to the balcony. No matter, a
variety of hard-working individuals, many of whom are longtime WFC
employees are always a pleasure to speak to. They comprise the unseen
roster that make this venue flow smoothy, which has always been true
since I first was fortunate to gain a media credential in 2011-12.
First
Period
Flyers
killed off partial two-man disadvantaged with help from the
Islanders, who were tagged with a too many men on the ice bench
minor. Robert Hagg, who received the double-minor, causing the
two-man disadvantage, then scored a fluky goal, his fifth of the
season. The goal at 6:39, assists to Radko Gudas and Ryan Hartman.
The
Islanders scored at 14:27 when Brock Nelson (his twenty-third of the
season) whacked a puck that was floating in the air above Hart's
shoulder into the net. Assists to Scott Mayfield and Devon Toews.
Shots
– Islanders 14. Flyers – 10.
Second
Period
Nick
Leddy's (his fourth of the season) slap shot from a bit above the
center of the faceoff circles gave the Islanders a 2-1 lead at 10:58.
Assists to Mathew Barzal and Boychuk.
A
rather listless effort by Philadelphia furthered the reality that
Scott Gordon's team has been playing playoff-esque games for more
than two months.
Shots
– Islanders 29. Flyers – 15.
Third
Period
Ryan
Hartman's interference call, combined with Jake Voracek's
unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, due to arguing his teammates
infraction, gave the Islanders a two-man advantage at 2:16 into the
frame. The impressive kill gave the Flyers a chance to tie the game.
An
interference call against New York at 6:12 put the Flyers on the
advantage for the first time in the game.
Shayne
Gostisbehere (his eighth of the season) buried a slap shot from the
high slot four seconds into the PP (6:16), with assists to Claude
Giroux and Sean Couturier.
At
9:08 Scott Laughton was tripped by Adam Pelech, setting up another
PP. No goal was scored.
Josh
Bailey whipped a wrister (his fifteenth of the season) over Hart's
left shoulder at 16:03, giving New York a late 3-2 lead. Nelson and
Andrew Ladd.
Bailey
added a rebound goal (16th) at 17:26. Assists to Leo
Komarov and Pelech. That tally sealed the game.
Excessive
amount of shots allowed by the Flyers remains an issue and one that
needs to be corrected if next season is to flow more smoothly and, or
lead to a playoff position.
Final
shot total: Islanders - 40. Flyers - 24.
Final
score: Islanders 4 – Flyers – 2.
While
the loss still didn't mathematically eliminate Philadelphia from the
playoffs, the near-certain end of those hopes should arrive very
soon.
Next
up - The Flyers travel to Washington to play the Metro
division-leading Capitals 43-24-8, 94 points) tomorrow. The game
will be nationally televised by NBC, starting at 12:35 p.m. EST.
Postgame
Quotes
I
spoke with Hart after the game, post the media scrum. We discussed the efforts he's made through the years with his mental
skills coach, John Stevenson.
As
anyone who would speak with the 20-year-old has seen, he's a young
man who's head is on straight. It is this aspect, similar to other
impactful players, or achievers in any field, that provides potential
and momentum for progress and sustained success.
Responses to media scrum questions, postgame in the locker room and at the press conferences of Gordon and Islanders head coach Barry Trotz:
Philadelphia
Flyers G Carter Hart
Carter
how do you describe the second period where you were kind of under
attack for most of that twenty minutes?
I don’t
know, shots were just kind of coming from everywhere, so I was just
trying to do my job and compete, and battle, and just trying to stop
the puck.
You
think a loss of energy is inevitable when the teams been trying to
chase in the playoff standings for so many weeks now?
I think
when you’re competitive enough and energy isn’t a factor, I think
that we just need to dig down and we all have more, we all have
better, and including myself. I think we just all need to dig down
deeper.
Is
it good to at least have another one tomorrow where you can’t dwell
on this and you have to get right back at it?
Yeah for
sure, to have a back-to-back here, so we just put it behind us and
come out tomorrow and come out hard. Right from the get-go set a tone
early in the game.
What
was the 5-on-3 like sometimes that’s a minute and a half a little
bit less, you had two full minutes of it.
We did a
really good job on that 5-on-3. They didn’t really get
anything generated. [To have a] full two minutes on the 5-on-3 and
for them not to get really any good looks, that’s kudos to our PK
there on the three man kill.
Philadelphia
Flyers D Robert Hagg
You
guys have been in a playoff race for so long and you have a loss at a
critical time like this, is there much of a reaction or do you just
kind of forget about it and go to the next game?
It sucks,
that’s the feeling right now, they played better than we did the
whole game. We didn’t deserve to win today, so, right now yes, I
have a terrible feeling.
How
much did you plead your case when you got called for the
high-sticking?
It’s the
second time this year, so I was kind of pissed off but there’s not
much you can do. You just have to go to the box, sit there for four
minutes and try to get the best out of it.
Between
a call like that, and [Ryan] Hartman’s call, they probably at some
point get to look at a replay, do they ever admit fault to you guys
or is it just like an understood thing for the rest of the game?
He was
pretty good about it, he came up before the second period and kind of
apologized, so you’re getting frustrated, but when a referee comes
up and admits it, you can let it go. When they don’t, I’m not
going to say anything.
When
you have a big call go against you, does the frustration bleed over
into the on-ice play?
Maybe a
little bit but you can’t focus on it, we have to play out there a
game out there to play. Of course, we’re frustrated but at the same
time you have to put energy on what we can do out there.
New York Islanders RW Josh Bailey
Much
needed 2 points for you guys and a much needed effort tonight.
Yeah I mean
pretty complete game for us I think we get some adversity there in
the third obviously. When you have a 5 on 3 you want to capitalize,
unfortunately we didn’t. They seemed to rally a little bit, scored
a power play goal and then we just got back to work after that, our
kill came up with another big kill, to seal the deal I think all in
all it was a good win for us when we needed it.
Do
you feel like Brock’s goal kind of got the ball rolling for you
guys, an exhale to kind of get back to your game, just knowing that
went in for you guys.
Of course,
I think sometimes just results reap confidence, sometimes you feel
like you’re doing the right things and the other team gets a bounce
and things can kind of snowball for you. Tonight we got one back
there with Brock and then we really found our game after that. Like I
said in the third a little bit of adversity, but you’re gonna get
that this time of year.
Were
you looking for a spot on your first goal or were you just kinda
getting it on net and hoping for the best?
I was just
trying to go shoot it hard and high short side. The angle wasn’t
great and sometimes you just need a little bit of luck to get those
in the back of the net.
Brock’s
goal that took the weight off everyone’s back, it’s been three
games since he got one that kind of broke the ice for you guys a
little bit.
Yeah I
think so. Like I touched on before, it’s not like we didn’t
deserve to score goals the last couple games, I think there were
certain areas that needed to be better, but sometimes it’s just a
break here and there that can make a difference and kind of open
things up for you. In that instance we were going to the net hard and
a shot and he banged one in and sometimes that’s all it takes.
Flyers
C Sean Couturier
[Inaudible]
Yeah, I
thought we were playing good. It was tight out there. Then all of a
sudden, we kind of turned some pucks over. We tried doing an extra
play or something. They’re a pretty good team, that’s what they
kind of stride on. They came hard at us.
How
surprised were you guys by some of the calls?
I don’t
know. It is frustrating, it’s tough. At the same time, PK did a
good job, gained momentum off those kills. Yeah, it’d be nice to
get a few calls on our side.
What’s
the mindset there?
Yeah, but
at the same time there’s always overtime. I mean, you don’t want
to force things. I thought down one goal, we made a good push, tied
the game. Then let an unfortunate goal. But, we pushed hard after
that and sometime you have to press and it costs you. It is what it
is.
Even
in some of these games when you’ve been winning, you guys have been
spending a lot of time in the defensive zone, not as much time in the
attack. What’s been going on, why is that a problem?
I don’t
know, maybe just trying a little too much on the perimeter. Not
bringing pucks to the net. At the same time, when you’re killing
penalties it’s tough to get some shots, to get some offense going.
That’s always tough. I think if maybe we learn more discipline, get
a few calls on our side, or none of those penalties. The Haager one,
the four-minute where it’s not even his stick. Maybe it’s a
tighter game earlier and we gain momentum. But, it is what it is and
we have to move on.
Flyers
RW Ryan Hartman
Was
there any explanation to you on why they called that call the way
they did?
The only
thing he said during the penalty is, I’m not going to let you run
the goalie. It is what it is.
You
have a game like this, there’s a little too much time spent trying
to get out of your own zone.
Yeah, we
didn’t really sustain too much pressure. There isn’t a lot of one
and dones. There’s some points where we kept to the outside, where
they’re kind of in the perimeter. There’s a few times where we
let them inside and it cost us a little bit. We need to look at that
and do a better job tomorrow.
Philadelphia
Flyers D Shayne Gostisbehere
What
were they able to do the last two periods that you weren’t that
really changed the way game went?
They were
cycling pretty good. They were grinding us down. We were chasing a
lot. It felt like they had two point shots. We were just battling. It
just kept rimming around and going to their open guys. I think they
grinded us down a bit and broke us down defensively.
Was
it different than what you’d seen in the previously two games up in
New York? Were they playing any differently?
Yeah, they
were playing with purpose this time it felt like. Obviously when you
get beat bad in your own building twice like that, they are going to
come out flying. They did tonight.
Ghost,
when you spend that much time in your own zone, a lot of it was kept
to the outside but eventually something will work its way inside the
back of the net?
Yeah, for
sure. They were pretty relentless. We spent most our time in the
D-zone. You’re going to get tired. You’re going to break down.
Hartsy can only make so many saves. We kind of let him down on that
aspect.
When
you have losses this time of the year, how do you keep them from
being debilitating after a game?
Just got to
keep going. Take it game by game. We have another game tomorrow at
12:30. It’s just the next game.
New
York Islanders Head Coach Barry Trotz
Barry,
that was a kind of strange start to the game with all the different
looks and then the flukey goal. Did you really like the response from
your guys?
Yeah. I
think it was one of those games where there was a little bit of some
strange things happening, you have a little adversity. I won’t say
you’re doubting yourself a little bit, you lost two games and the
first one’s the way it went in, you’re going, “what else is
going to happen?” But our response was resilient, we stayed with
it. Obviously, we got a response goal later in the period and then we
had some momentum swings. I thought the second period we played
outstanding. We were on top of them, we were checking, we were
managing the puck really well. We got a couple power plays and
weren’t able to score on a five-on-three and they got all the
momentum there. I like their response, the next couple shifts we sort
of have to battle through that. They score on a power play and then
you take another penalty and you got to kill that off. That was a
huge kill. Once we killed that off, I felt pretty certain we were
going to get points, I didn’t know if we were going to get one or
two. But the real big couple shifts by Bails [Josh Bailer] and that
was huge. Great response at the end, six-on-five for them. We did a
real good job.
Not
to dwell on the negative, but the five-on-three, is it our guys just,
kind of the same when you don’t score on five-on-five, does it just
get in your head a little bit?
Yeah, it’s
just like anything it gets in the back of your head. You try to get
too fine. You know, at home, it’s not different when someone’s
booing you, you’re going, “okay yeah, I got to make a great
play.” You don’t. You just play. Guys are double clutching it and
trying to be too fine. The windows of opportunity are very short on
the power play and if you’re double clutching it, that window
closes and then, all of a sudden you got nothing and now you’re
trying to force things. It’s frustrating. We just got to get a
little more confident on it and get a day to practice it again and
re-tool it a little bit and see if we can get some success with it.
You know, we just got to stay with it. We had some opportunities.
You
were pretty harsh on some of your guys from the other night, but you
didn’t make any changes upfront. Did you feel like you owed it to
this group to see what they can do?
Yeah, I
thought about it. It was actually quite difficult. We talked about it
as a coaching staff, there’s some guys I wasn’t really happy with
and there’s some guys that are tremendously working hard. They’re
waiting to get in the lineup. I felt it was important to go back with
the group that you sort of challenge a little bit. I only made one
change and that was Johnny [Boychuk]. I liked the response. I liked
the response about stepping up to the plate here and getting it done.
That says a lot about the group. It says a lot about our character
and hopefully it’ll give us some confidence. Obviously, we’re
going to play a desperate team tomorrow in Arizona, see if we can
have a little more mojo and go after them the same way as we did
tonight and go from there.
Johnny
said that his focus tonight was on the two points rather than any
sort of- were you talking?
Yeah
absolutely. There was no talking about the [Jakub] Voracek thing. As
I said, those two will figure it out down the road, but Johnny is one
of those ultimate team guys. He knows how important what we’re
trying to do is, he knows how important this game was. There was no
‘me’ in his thought process, it was all about ‘we’. That’s
why he’s one of those guys, you talk about glue guys in a room,
he’s one of those guys. That’s what he does. I’ve been keeping
him out a little bit here because of our depth, but also trying to
get us ready for the next level so everybody’s ready, because you
never know when guys go down. You talk about the right response, that
was the right response.
Is
this the kind of game that kind of underlines how important special
teams are, especially this time of year before the momentum of the
game?
Yeah,
special teams all year are important. To me, special teams are about
timeliness, not necessarily your percentages. You kill that penalty
when it was needed, he did. You know, when you’ve got a chance to
go ahead, did we score on the power play? It could make a difference.
And we weren’t able to do that. On one half, we got kind of the
right time, but tomorrow we got a new opportunity. Arizona, we might
need a big power play goal and they come through. Tonight, it was
just the PK’s turn.
Philadelphia
Flyers RW Claude Giroux
As
frustrating as this game is, is there also a sense that you’re
running out of time?
Yeah, I
mean it’s a game that we have to win, we know that. You know when
we tied it up there, I thought we were in control and it wasn’t the
case.
How
exhausting is it when you guys have to constantly have 3rd periods
like the first half of that one? A lot of times this season you guys
have kind of struggled in 2nd periods and had to make
a big push, whether it’s in the 3rd period or
coming back late in the season to try to get in playoff conversation,
it seems like it’s got to be pretty taxing.
Yeah, we
put ourselves in a bad situation and I mean usually we always
respond, always come out hard and find a way and couldn’t find a
way tonight.
When
stuff happens like the high sticking call on Haag that wasn’t Haag
or the penalty called on Ryan Hartman, how do you feel that affected
the play on the ice of the team?
You know,
refs are trying their best and when there’s 4 minutes and it wasn’t
your stick, its definitely frustrating, this time of the year,
position we are in, we’re not the only team that it happens to, but
it’s definitely very, very frustrating. Try to keep our composure,
yeah, it’s, just frustrating.
Philadelphia
Flyers RW Jake Voracek
How
exhausting does it get, quite a few times second periods have kind of
done you in and you have to come out strong in the 3rd just
to give yourself a chance. How tiring is it?
I would say
for about 40 games, the second periods were our best in the game.
Especially today, we were god awful, oh my god in the second. I don’t
think we had a shot in the first ten minutes. They just, when they
get zone time, they do a great job cycling us and keep the puck away
from their net. I don’t think we were moving well enough in the
second period to give ourselves a chance to create something.
Were
they doing something different in that second and third period than
they did the last games up in the island?
We just
didn’t move. If you don’t move, you’re chasing always. Even
when you have the puck, you don’t have the space to make the play,
time to make the play, so you got to get rid of it and then you’re
chasing again. So, that’s what happened.
How
surprised were you Boychuk plays, they start him and the 4th line,
and you weren’t out there to face him on the first shift, but there
were times out there, I don’t know if there were any words
exchanged. I mean they tried to run you 3 times in the island, so
maybe that was the end of it, did you guys expect more?
I expected
something was going to happen. It didn’t. I’m not going to say I
was unhappy about that. But like I said, he played a great game. It
was in the third that we tied it. We got a little bit of momentum off
that penalty kill, plus that power play after. Like I said, we just
blew it.
When
you have a whole bunch of calls that don’t go your way, it can be
hard sometimes to refocus and get back, looked like you guys had
killed those penalties, and it actually, particularly after the 2
minute 5 on 3, got some momentum.
Yeah, you
know when you have to kill 2 5 on 3’s in a game- the first one with
a high stick of their own player, the second with the interference on
Hartsy that I don’t think anyone saw. Obviously, it’s
frustrating. On the other hand, I got to keep my cool a little bit,
but I think at that moment in this type of season, 2-1 game, already
a PK, I think you got to have a little bit better feel for that
situation no matter what is being said. Like I said, it surprised me
to be honest.
Islanders
G Robin Lehner
*Something
about 2 points*
Oh it was
nice, I thought it was a big team win today. I think we played really
well. Just as it’s been in this last little stretch, they get
ridiculously lucky goals to start the game. You know what, after two
periods it should have probably been five, six, one. We had two
poles, two knobs, just not bouncing in for us. It was huge by Bails
there in the end to score that goal. It was a good game.
Can
you see a change in the team in front of you playing a little looser
after getting that first one?
No I think
we just got to get back to playing, getting. A little bit of stretch
like this everyone kind of tightened up a little bit, tried to do a
little bit too much and kind of lose the fun out of the game a little
bit. I think today we just had the mindset go play our game, have fun
again, enjoy the game, not to grip the sticks too hard or anything. I
think we came out and played good hockey. Again, they got a lucky
bounce to get the first goal. It didn’t affect us like it has most
of the season. Then we just kept going at them. Even after their big
kill against us, I think they had a couple of shifts, but we calmed
it down and we played good again.
This
team hasn’t lost three in a row since *inaudible* what does that
say about you guys that after you get to two games you guys stop?
Yeah, it’s
big. Especially at this time of year. I mean, we have gotten away
from our game a little bit. This is a big win for us, just to get
back and enjoy the game again and get back as a group.
New York Islanders D Johnny Boychuk
Johnny,
just describe the emotion, the excitement after a win like that, how
desperately your team needed it?
Both teams
were desperate I mean in the third period when they killed off that 5
on 3, they got a huge lift from their crowd and I mean, they were
really loud and we held them off, it was 2-2 and Bails got that
really nice goal and sealed it off with another one, so it was just a
good team effort and we just gotta continue to do that tomorrow and
going forward.
It
seemed what they did off of the 5 on 3 kill, is it also motivation
when your team has a penalty kill, knowing that this really can be a
momentum swing, we can take control?
When we get
a 5 on 3 we have to bury it obviously, and they had some momentum and
good thing Bails got that nice goal, but we gotta learn from that and
next time we get one we need to capitalize on it.
How
important was it for you guys to get the scoring going early in this
game, knowing with how the last couple games have been like for the
team and when Brock scored the feeling on the bench knowing that
alright, we got one?
You know
especially after their first goal, it was a lucky bounce for them and
we just stuck with it and got the next one and just gotta continue to
move forward and just do the things that make us a good hockey team.
They’re a desperate hockey team and the home crowd was involved and
they were loud tonight and you just gotta learn from it because
coming into playoffs it’s gonna be the same way and every place is
going to be loud and you just gotta stay calm and capitalize on
chances.
Given
the circumstances and what happened the last time you were in the
lineup the last time you played the Flyers, what was that balance
like today, staying focused, picking up the two points and not
letting the emotion of things getting in the way?
You have
to. It’s a tough sport and you don’t want to go out of your way,
but you gotta do what’s right for the team, tonight was for the two
points and that’s all that matters and we just gotta play hard and
smart.
Philadelphia
Flyers Head Coach Scott Gordon
What
message do you tell these guys any loss at this time of year from
seeming like a funeral?
“The
bottom line is we have to play. Coming off a loss tonight, going into
Washington isn’t a perfect situation, but that’s the card we’re
dealt with and we have got to play.”
What
happened in that second period, it seemed like you guys barely had
the puck?
“I
think we were just slow to close on people. They did a lot of
perimeter play, just moving the puck from corner to behind the net,
to up top. We were slow to go up to the points and recover to the
middle. Twice they get shots, one they score the goal on that our
weak side our winger wasn’t even close to having any coverage and
just easy looks for them. It’s one thing to be stuck in your zone,
it’s another thing to be stuck in your zone and two instances we
weren’t on the same page.”
How
much do you sense an exhaustion level from this team? It’s
certainly not an effort thing because there always seems to be a push
in the third period, with all of the games and every loss that
happens at this time of year it seems like there is another wind
taking out of them?
“We’ve
been going here since the middle of January playing at a pretty high
level and obviously we’re working up a lot of shots lately. I think
there’s an element of fatigue that is there. With that being said,
you can’t complicate yourself. The first period I thought we were
playing particularly well. Particularly coming out of the penalty
kill, I don’t know the first maybe eight minutes of that period we
start to turn the puck over to the wrong situations. So I don’t
think we built any momentum after we scored the goal. You’re
playing into the other team’s hands when you are going to turn
those pucks over, especially when there are other options.”
Is
it a mental fatigue also you think?
“I’m
sure it’s weighing on the players, knowing how time is winding down
here, seven games left. Obviously, we aren’t in a position, never
mind a losing streak, but to lose more than a game. That’s where
we’re at right now.”
Jake
said he expected there to be some kind of extracurricular activity
after Boychuk comes back. When you see that they start him and that
fourth line, does that mean anything to you?
“No,
Leddy and Boychuk pretty much start every period of every game.
They’ve started every game that we’ve played against them.”
When
Carter is bombarded with 80 plus shots over the last two games,
another quick turnaround tomorrow, does that play at all into your
decision?
“I
haven’t thought about it yet. I’m sure it will.”
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