The New York Islanders have yet to lose a regulation game at home this season. The Isles went into tonight’s game with a record of 11-7-2, and with a big thanks to John Tavares’ mitts, they walked out 12-8-2.  The Islanders now have 26 points and are sitting in 3rd place in the Metropolitan division.
PERIOD 1: The beginning of the game hit the Flyers like a brick wall, literally. Thomas Greiss made multiple spectacular saves against the last place Philly team. Although Greisser made many nice saves, Philadelphia lit the lamp first. The deflected goal was scored by 23-year old Taylor Leier, his first of the season. After the goal was scored, the Islanders took control of the period. The Isles maintained puck possession in the offensive zone for the remaining of the 20 minutes. This puck possession paid off when our star rookie Mat Barzal sniped a beautiful power-play goal to tie the game at one with 1:07 left in the period.
PERIOD 2: The second period was very fun to watch. Flyers LW Michael Raffl scored the first goal of the second period (his first in 43 games) to give his team a 2-1 lead. Soon after, Johnny Boychuk sent a snap shot behind Brian Elliot on the 5-on-3 to tie the game at two goals a piece. Isles fans did not have to wait too long for the next goal. Just a few minutes after Johnny tied it, Josh Ho-Sang scored a controversial goal which was reviewed for high-sticking. The call was upheld and The Islanders suddenly had a 3-2 lead. To Isles fans demise, Jakub Voracek scored on the power play to tie the game at three, and that is how the game went into the second intermission.
PERIOD 3: The third period was very nerve-wracking for Islanders fans. Our defense was under-performing. On top of this, Jason Chimera took a bad penalty late in the frame. For most of the period, the Flyers had control of the puck and took many shots on net. Thankfully, Thomas Greiss was on his game tonight and kept the door shut in the final minutes of regulation. There were no goals scored and the game headed to OT.
OVERTIME: Heading into OT, most fans (including myself) expected Mat Barzal to start alongside John Tavares and Nick Leddy. Instead, HC Doug Weight decided to roll the dice and start Josh Bailey. This worked out very well. Our captain won the draw. He got the puck and controlled it along the boards while undergoing heavy pressure. He was able to dangle his way out of pressure and pass the puck to Josh Bailey. Bailey quickly shot the puck which was stopped by by Elliot, but then he put it home on the rebound, giving the Isles the 4-3 win.
KEY STATS:

• Mat Barzal 1 goal
• Johnny Boychuk 1 goal
• Josh Bailey 1 goal 2 assists
• Nick Leddy 2 assists
• Josh Ho-Sang 1 goal
• John Tavares 2 assists
• Adam Pelech 1 assist
• Anthony Beauvillier 1 assist

David Lazar