The Philadelphia Flyers defeated the New York Islanders 4-3 in a shootout during their divisional matchup at UBS Arena. The Islanders mounted a comeback from a three-goal deficit, but the Flyers secured the victory. This marks the second meeting between the Metro Division rivals this season.
On Black Friday, Rick Tocchet's Philadelphia Flyers (12-7-3 entering the game) faced Patrick Roy's New York Islanders (13-9-2) in Elmont at UBS Arena, with puck drop at 4:00 p.m. EST. The game was broadcast on NBCSP. The Flyers entered with a 4-4-1 road record and a 6-2-2 mark over their last 10 games, coming off a dramatic 4-2 comeback win against the Florida Panthers. In that game, Emil Andrae scored his first NHL goal, Matvei Michkov his sixth, Tyson Foerster his eighth, and Sean Couturier his third.
The Islanders, 1-2-0 on their current homestand, had recently lost 2-1 to the St. Louis Blues, won 1-0 in a shootout against the Seattle Kraken after 65 scoreless minutes, and fallen 3-1 to the Boston Bruins. New York was 7-3-0 in their last 10 games overall.
Leading the Flyers' scoring was Trevor Zegras with 21 points (7 goals, 14 assists) in 22 games, followed by Travis Konecny (5 goals, 12 assists, 17 points), Christian Dvorak (6 goals, 9 assists, 15 points), Owen Tippett (6 goals, 8 assists, 14 points), and Couturier (14 points, including 11 assists). Tyson Foerster led with eight goals. For the Islanders, Bo Horvat topped the team with 25 points (14 goals, 11 assists), followed by Mathew Barzal (7 goals, 11 assists, 18 points), Kyle Palmieri (6 goals, 11 assists, 17 points), Matthew Schaefer (7 goals, 9 assists, 16 points), and Earl Heineman (9 goals, 6 assists, 15 points).
The Flyers have won an NHL-best 10 games after trailing, including five in the third period, but only scored first in six of 22 games. Special teams were a focus: Philadelphia's power play was 21st at 16.9 percent (1-for-16 in last nine games), penalty kill fourth at 86.2 percent. The Islanders' power play ranked 31st at 12.7 percent, penalty kill eighth at 83.3 percent. Travis Konecny and Bo Horvat, who are cousins, have strong histories against each opponent's team.
In the first matchup on October 25 in Philadelphia, the Flyers rallied from 2-0 down to win 4-3 in a shootout.