Takeaways: Islanders Eliminated From Playoffs After 4-3 Shootout Loss to Flyers

The New York Islanders were eliminated from postseason contention on Saturday afternoon, falling 4-3 to the Philadelphia Flyers in a shootout at Wells Fargo Center.

Bobby Brink scored the lone goal in a five-round shootout to give the Flyers the extra point. Bo Horvat’s (1G, 1A) goal with 61 seconds to play in regulation sent the game into overtime, while Noah Dobson (1G, 1A) and Anders Lee (1G, 1A) also scored for the Islanders. Tyson Foerster scored twice, while Jakob Pelletier rounded out the scoring for the Flyers in regulation.

Marcus Hogberg stopped 19-of-22 shots in regulation and four of five attempts in the shootout, while Samuel Ersson stopped 37-for-40 shots for the Flyers and all five Isles shootout attempts.

ISLES ELIMINATED FROM PLAYOFF CONTENTION

There was disappointment in the Islanders locker room after Saturday’s game, with the implication of the shootout loss far outweighing the nuts and bolts of the defeat.

The loss officially eliminated the Islanders (80 points) from postseason contention, as they can only max out at 86 points, which is one behind the Montreal Canadiens current total of 87. While the path for the Islanders to make the playoffs had narrowed before Saturday’s game, and Montreal could have eliminated them by picking up a single point, the official nature of it still stung.

“This isn't a place we want to be,” 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 footing and give ourselves a chance in the last 15 games, but [there were] stretches at times that lasted a game or two too long and put us in a spot where it was out of our control.”

“It's disappointing, no doubt, to not have a go at this thing,” the captain added.

This season ends a two-year streak of making the postseason and marks just the second time the Isles will miss the playoffs since 2018-19.

TAKEAWAYS

- As for Saturday’s game, the Islanders appeared to learn some of the lessons from Thursday’s 9-2 loss to the New York Rangers and Tuesday’s 7-6 OT loss to the Nashville Predators.

They limited the Flyers to just 22 shots on net, including just 12 in the first two periods and just eight high-danger chances at five-on-five per Natural Stat Trick. The Flyers made the most of their limited opportunities – Foerster walked off the goal line and roofed a backhander on a power play to open the scoring in the second and later took advantage of a blown coverage to make it 3-2, while Pelletier finished off a tic-tac-toe play off the rush to tie the score in the third – but overall the Isles didn’t give up a ton.

- Offensively, the Islanders peppered Ersson for 40 shots – their second straight game with 40 shots on net – and came together on a pair of pretty goals. Dobson threaded a pass to Lee at the side of the net for a power-play goal to tie the score 1-1 at 10:54 of the second period. That pass was outdone by Horvat, who dished a backhand feed behind his back and through two Flyers to Dobson for the 2-1 tally at 17:58.

Horvat eventually tied it up during a six-on-five stretch at the end of the game, as his shot deflected off a Philadelphia stick to send the game to OT. Give the Isles some credit for fighting to the finish.

“I thought we were a better team on the ice all day long,” Head Coach Patrick Roy said. “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.’”

ODDS AND ENDS:

• The Islanders finish the season series with the Flyers 2-1-1.
• Horvat and Pierre Engvall each had a team high six shots on goal.
• Tony DeAngelo played a team-high 26:47 and had two assists.
• The Isles power play went 1-for-4, while the penalty kill went 3-for-4.

LINEUP NOTES:

The Islanders went with the same lineup from Thursday’s game.

NOTABLE QUOTE:

Anders Lee on the Islanders season and the disappointment of missing the playoffs:

We didn't get the traction. We didn't put enough [wins] together in a row. At times the losses piled a game or two too long in those streaks, and we didn't find that mojo, that momentum. We were doing our best all year just to keep ourselves alive and keep ourselves in striking distance. At times we were going through different things, going through different things with the lineup, and 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. That's not where we want to be. It's not what we worked for.

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders visit the New Jersey Devils on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m.