Philadelphia Flyers force Game Seven with another magical victory

After blowing a 2-0 lead, the Philadelphia Flyers rallied back in the third period, taking this one in double-overtime to force a Game 7.

After a back and forth affair, the Philadelphia Flyers needed to win to keep their playoff dreams alive and force a Game Seven. The New York Islanders were looking for one final win to secure a spot in the Eastern Conference Finals for a second straight game, losing Game Five in overtime.

The Islanders were fortunate that Mat Barzal was in the lineup, after taking a follow through right to his eye, as he missed the closing minutes of the third period back on Thursday as well as overtime.

Sean Couturier would be missing from the Flyer lineup, as he too was injured in Game Five. But his team would be welcoming someone back into the lineup. And that was Oskar Lindblom.

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For those of you who did not know, Lindblom has been battling a rare form of bone cancer all year, as his hockey career, but more importantly, his life was in jeopardy.

But thankfully, he was able to persevere and defeat this terrible disease, as it was a surreal moment to see him suiting up for his first career NHL game.

Once the game began, the Islanders came out of the gate as strong as we have seen in this series. But it was the Flyers who would get off to a great start, scoring two goals in 1:36.

The first goal was a rough one for the Islanders, as Anders Lee cleared the puck into the neutral zone so he and his tired line could make a change. But the Flyers quickly entered the Islanders zone, creating time and space. A few quick in-tight passes found Kevin Hayes wide open in the slot as his quick wrister beat Semyon Varlamov high blocker side.

Shortly after, James Van Riemsdyk with time and space decided to let one rip, sneaking the puck through the smallest of spaces underneath Varlamov’s glove.

But the Islanders would get one back with under four minutes to play in the opening frame.

Brock Nelson would make a great feed behind the Flyers net to Devon Toews in the slot, who would then slap-pass the puck to Derick Brassard. And while Brassards stick could not withstand the strength of the pass, he was able to direct the puck pass a sliding Carter Hart.

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After being a healthy scratch for the first two cames of the series, Brassard has come up big for this team, with two goals and an assist over his last three games. Early on in the second period, Matt Martin would tie this game up, as this goal was one you just need to watch.

Flyers’ head coach Alain Vigneault would decide to challenge this for goalie interference, not the first bonehead challenge he has made in this series. Clearly, Casey Cizikas was tripped up by Justin Braun and had no way of stopping before crashing into Hart.

That being said, the Islanders would be given a power play due to the failed challenge. And on that powerplay, Lee would cash in to give his team a 3-2 lead.

Barzal would take an intellegent shot, as he knew Hart would not be able to control his rebound. Lee was in the perfect spot, hammering it home, as the Islanders capitalized on a critical Flyer coaching mistake.

With a little over seven minutes to play in the middle frame, Varlamov would struggle to track a Aube-Kubel shot through traffic, as Michael Raffl hopped the rebound, depositing it into the net.

Not quite sure what the Islanders’ top defensive pair was doing there, as they both got caught puck watching. Regardless, this game was knotted at three apiece.

But with thirty seconds left in the period, Barzal would pick up a loose puck, using his skating ability to find space, before making a quick move towards the top of the left circle,  beating Hart high blocker side with his accurate wrist shot.

This is what the Islanders need to see from Barzal, who had a phenomenal game despite the outcome.

With the Flyers running out of time on their season, Scott Laughton would take advantage of a miscue by Islanders’ defenseman Devon Toews, as he made no mistake on a breakaway, getting Varlamov to drop before beating him high block side.

What made this goal was the beautiful, quick pass by Flyers’ captain Claude Giroux, to perfectly lead Laughton in stride towards goal.

As regulation came to a close, the Islanders saw themselves outshooting their opponents 42-17. Jordan Eberle was the storyline up to this point, with a handful of chances in this game, but none were able to find the back of the net.

In overtime, it was the Flyers who would be given two power play opportunities to end this game. But the Islanders would kill both of them off, as this game needed a second overtime period.

With just over five minutes to go in the second extra period, Scott Mayfield would break his stick at the Flyers’ blueline, resulting in a terrible turnover. While Mayfield would reach for a stick from his bench, there was none available in the moment.

Hayes would be very patient as right before he skated behind the Islanders’ net he threw the puck to Ivan Provorov, coming late into the zone. With time and traffic in front, Provorov made no mistake, beating Varlamov high blocker side to force a Game Seven.

The Islanders would end this game with 53 shots on goal, but it did not matter. Crucial mistakes gave this Flyer team too many opportunities to score, as Islander opportunities seemingly went by the board more often than not. Hart made 49 saves, some jaw dropping, as he had to be their best player in this one.

Varlamov needed to be better, as he did not come through with that big save a goaltender needs to make in the playoffs to help his team win. Three of the four goals scored against him were shot high blocker side, as clearly the scouting report indicated that that was his weaker side.

All of Philly’s victories in this series have come in dramatic fashion, all via overtime goals.

The Flyers have all the momentum heading into Game Seven on Saturday, as the puck will be dropped a little after 7:30. The Islanders look to avoid blowing a series that they had full control over.