Islanders get crucial win over Flyers in chase for playoff berth
Islanders center Brock Nelson is greeted by teammates after scoring against the Philadelphia Flyers in the second period of an NHL game at UBS Arena on Friday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
All this, and Tony DeAngelo, too.
“Stringing a few together, it’s something that we’ve talked about,” Brock Nelson said. “We’ve talked a lot about it for the last couple of months. The last few weeks that we’ve been saying that, it’s just that we had the belief in the group in here to go out there and do it.”
The Islanders won a third straight game for only the second time this season Friday night, earning a crucial 3-1 victory over the Flyers in a chippy match fueled by leftover hard feelings before a raucous sellout crowd at UBS Arena.
Hours earlier— with Noah Dobson (lower body/injured reserve) and Mike Reilly (heart condition/long-term injured reserve) not expected back for a significant amount of time — the Islanders announced they had signed DeAngelo, the controversial former Rangers defenseman, to a one-year contract covering the rest of this season worth a prorated $775,000.
DeAngelo, 29, was playing in Russia and had six goals and 26 assists in 34 KHL games for St. Petersburg SKA. He is expected to clear waivers on Saturday and be available when the Islanders continue their seven-game homestand (3-2-0 so far) against the Hurricanes.
“He’s so good with the puck. His decisions with the puck on the power play, he’s a threat up there,” Bo Horvat said. “I think he’s a great addition to our team. I’ve gotten so many texts from people saying how much they love him. He impacts the room in a good way.”
The Hurricanes, in second place in the Metropolitan Division, acquired top-line wing Mikko Rantanen from the Avalanche and former Hart Trophy winner Taylor Hall from Chicago on Friday in a three-team deal.
The Islanders (20-20-7), who got 29 saves from a locked-in Ilya Sorokin and have won six of eight, moved within three points of the Flyers with three games in hand in the race for an Eastern Conference wild-card berth.
The Islanders are six points behind the Blue Jackets — with two games in hand — for the second spot. The Flyers (22-22-6), who lost to the Rangers, 6-1, on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden, are one of six teams between them and Columbus.
“It was a good team effort,” said coach Patrick Roy, who declined to comment on DeAngelo. “We were solid five-on-five from the start to the end. And when you see your captain [Anders Lee] blocking a shot like he did at the end of the third period, it shows how our team is right now.”
It’s a stark contrast with the bleak feelings after the Flyers’ 5-3 win at UBS Arena on Jan. 16 in the homestand’s second game. That game was marked by Maxim Tsyplakov’s high hit on the Flyers’ Ryan Poehling that drew a three-game suspension. Tsyplakov is eligible to play against the Hurricanes.
Friday’s game featured numerous scrums at the nets. And even if Flyers coach John Tortorella downplayed the possibility of any carryover, Alexander Romanov didn’t forget. The Islanders defenseman was a hit machine (a game-high six along with four blocked shots) from the opening faceoff and drew a roughing penalty against Travis Konecny at 6:30 of the first period after rocking defenseman Cam York with a clean check.
“That was pretty solid, clean,” defenseman Ryan Pulock said. “I don’t think that felt very good. When there’s a body to be played, he plays it. It set the tone tonight.”
The Islanders did show why they need DeAngelo, whose forte is the power play (he struggles five-on-five), by failing to get a shot on the ensuing man advantage. Overall, their NHL-worst power play was 0-for-3 with four shots.
Tyson Foerster, off a two-on-one rush, made it 1-0 by beating Sorokin under his blocker at 14:14 of the first period. But Anthony Duclair, converting Nelson’s odd-man feed, and Horvat, converting Mathew Barzal’s feed toward the crease, scored within 55 seconds to give the Islanders a 2-1 lead at 18:03 of the first period.
Nelson, chasing down defenseman Adam Pelech’s feed up ice, beat Ivan Fedotov (24 saves) to the short side from the right circle to make it 3-1 at 13:56 of the second period.
Notes & quotes: Goalie Marcus Hogberg is expected to start against the Hurricanes . . . The NHL announced the Islanders’ quarter-century first and second teams, with first- team members eligible for the NHL quarter-century team via fan voting that will start next month. First team: Sorokin, defensemen Nick Leddy and Pelech and forwards Josh Bailey, Nelson and John Tavares. Second team: goalie Semyon Varlamov, defensemen Kenny Jonsson and Pulock and forwards Barzal, Lee and Frans Nielsen.
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.
