Islanders eliminated from playoff chase with loss to Flyers
Islanders center Bo Horvat (14) reacts after missing a shootout attempt against the Philadelphia Flyers at Wells Fargo Center on Saturday, April 12, 2025 in Philadelphia. Credit: Imagn Images/Kyle Ross
PHILADELPHIA — So many elements of the Islanders’ disappointing season were packed into their last game with any meaning as their inevitable playoff elimination was made official on Saturday afternoon.
Their 4-3 five-round shootout loss to the Flyers at Wells Fargo Center featured some puck mismanagement, a blown lead in the third period, enough pride to force overtime on Bo Horvat’s goal with a minute left in regulation and, ultimately, an inability to finish either skating three-on-three or in the shootout.
Bobby Brink scored the lone goal in the shootout on Marcus Hogberg (19 saves) after the Islanders outshot the Flyers 3-1 in the five-minute overtime.
The one point lost was enough to seal their playoff elimination. With three games remaining, the Islanders (34-33-12) cannot catch the Canadiens for the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot.
“It stinks, obviously,” defenseman Noah Dobson, who had a goal and a power-play assist, told Newsday. “It’s disappointing. We’ve got to do a better job in a good spot going into the third period. We shouldn’t even be going to overtime. In those moments, we’ve got to be better.”
It’s the Islanders’ first postseason miss since 2022 and it will lead to speculation regarding the futures of both president and general manager Lou Lamoriello and coach Patrick Roy, who is completing his first full season with the team.
They’re limping to the finish with No. 1 goalie Ilya Sorokin (lower body) injured, losing their third straight after a 7-6 overtime loss in Nashville on Tuesday in which they couldn’t hold a two-goal lead in the final three minutes of regulation and a 9-2 embarrassment against the Rangers on Thursday night at UBS Arena.
Samuel Ersson made 37 saves for the Flyers (33-37-9), who have won five of six since interim coach Brad Shaw replaced the fired John Tortorella.
“Giving up seven goals against Nashville, nine at home versus the Rangers, at this time of the year, it’s not good enough,” Dobson told Newsday. “It doesn’t matter what you do the next game, you dig yourself in a hole. And that’s on us as a group, we know that. It’s just disappointing right now.”
Roy was not ready to reflect upon the lost season. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to talk about today’s game,” he said. “At the end of the season, you’ll talk to me about the season.”
But captain Anders Lee did dissect the empty feeling.
“We didn’t get the traction,” said Lee, whose power-play redirection of Dobson’s feed tied it at 1-1 at 10:54 of the second period. “We didn’t put enough together in a row. At times, the losses piled a game or two too long in those streaks. We didn’t find that mojo a little bit, that momentum.
“We were doing our best all year just to keep ourselves alive and keep ourselves in striking distance. At times going through different things with the lineup, just trying to patch some holes. But as a whole, you put that together for 82 [games] and you find yourself on the outside looking in and it’s disappointing. It’s not what we worked for.
“We have a job to do to finish the regular season and we’ll get to the rest of that later. We’ve got to start to reflect a little bit on what everyone can do individually as a player and go have a great summer and be ready to roll.”
Lamoriello, who traded Brock Nelson before the March 7 deadline but made no other significant deals, acknowledged at the time, “There will be change this summer.”
That is, if Lamoriello is the one still making the decisions.
Notes & quotes: Tyson Foerster scored twice for the Flyers, making it 1-0 on the power play at 3:28 of the second period and giving them a 3-2 lead at 10:34 of the third period . . . Dobson’s goal off Horvat’s behind-the-back feed gave the Islanders a 2-1 lead at 17:58 of the second period . . . Pierre Engvall exited at 16:57 of the third period after appearing to hurt his left knee on a non-contact play. But he returned to the bench and seemed fine after the game . . . Roy did not name a starting goalie for Sunday’s road matinee against the Devils. Rookie Tristan Lennox, with less than five minutes of NHL experience, backed up Hogberg for a second straight game.
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
