TORONTO (AP) — Phillippe Myers scored 2:40 into overtime to give the Philadelphia Flyers a 4-3 victory over the New York Islanders on Wednesday, tying the second-round playoff series at a game apiece.
The Islanders overcame a 3-0 first-period deficit, with Jean-Gabriel Pageau getting the tying goal with 2:09 left in regulation.
Myers ended it quickly, connecting on a shot from the right point that glanced off the stick of the Islanders’ Anders Lee on the way in.
Kevin Hayes scored twice in the first period for Philadelphia, Sean Couturier also had a goal, and Carter Hart made 31 saves.
The Flyers scored three times in the first 15:09, chasing Varlamov. He had shut them out in Game 1 and built an Islanders’ playoff record shutout streak of 138:17 before Philadelphia broke through in the first period.
Game 3 is Thursday night.
The Flyers, the top seed in the Eastern Conference, sorely needed more production from their top goal-scorers and finally got it.
Hayes scored off a rush with a wrister from the left circle that rattled in off the post 1:57 into the game. Hayes got his second when he beat Varlamov with a sharp-angle shot from the left at 9:43.
Couturier followed later in the period with a slick one, picking up the puck in the neutral zone, slipping around defenseman Nick Leddy and deking Varlamov. That’s when Greiss was sent in to make his playoff debut in relief of Varlamov.
The momentum started to even out in the second period. With the Islanders on a power play, Lee tipped in a beautiful cross-ice feed from Mathew Barzal to get New York on the board.
Beauvillier made it a one-goal game on a rush 11:11 into the third period. Pageau lifted a wrist shot over Hart’s glove to tie the game with 2:09 left, despite a Flyers’ claim that New York was offside entering the zone.
NOTES: Hayes recorded the first multi-goal playoff game of his career. … Hart improved to 7-3 in the playoffs, including 3-0 after losses. … The Flyers are 8-0 in the playoffs when scoring first. … Since Jan. 7, Philadelphia is 11-0-0 after a loss.
LIGHTNING 7, BRUINS 1
TORONTO (AP) — Ondrej Palat, Mikhail Sergachev and Alex Killorn scored power-play goals Wednesday night to lead the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 7-1 rout of the Boston Bruins in Game 3 of their second-round NHL playoff series.
Killorn added a second goal and Yanni Gourde, Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov also scored for the Lightning, which won for the second straight night to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven matchup between Atlantic Division rivals.
Game 4 is Friday night.
“Let’s be honest. This is an aberration,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said of the blowout, which followed Tampa Bay’s 4-3 overtime win on Tuesday night.
Kucherov assisted on all three power-play goals, finishing with a career playoff-best four points as the Lightning ended an 0-for-16 drought in man-advantage situations that began in Game 1 of the team’s first-round victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets.
“We lost our composure at times and didn’t do enough to get back in the game,” Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said.
“But it’s over, we’re going to focus on Game 4. (Whether it’s) 7-1, 2-1 — a loss is a loss. They’re up 2-1,” Cassidy added. “I know we’ve got a good group. They’re resilient. We’ll lick our wounds … and get ready for Game 4.”
Brad Marchand had his fourth goal of the series for Boston, scoring on the power play at 4:56 of the second period.
But by then, the Bruins trailed 3-0 after yielding goals to Palat and Gourde within a 15-second span of the opening period and Sergachev’s blistering shot that sailed past goalie Jaroslav Halak at 2:14 of the second.
Things really got out of hand when Halak, trailing 4-1, was replaced by 23-year-old Dan Vladar, making his NHL playoff debut.
Point scored on a breakaway and Killorn added his second goal the night before Kucherov built the lead to 7-1 at 3:58 of the third period.
Andrei Vasilevskiy had 23 saves for the Lightning. Halak stopped 12 of 16 shots before departing midway through the second period.
“We know this is going to be a long series,” Tampa Bay’s Kevin Shattenkirk said. “We’re not going to see that type of Boston team on Friday night.”
Notes: Vlader, who dressed as Halak’s backup the previous five games, allowed three goals on 15 shots. … Tampa Bay finished 3 for 6 on the power-play and is 5 for 26 for the playoffs. … Torey Krug and David Pastrnak assisted on Marchand’s goal. … With injured Lightning defenseman Ryan McDonagh still sidelined, Tampa Bay dressed seven defensemen and 11 forwards for the second straight game.
Photo credit – Cole Burston / The Canadian Press via AP / Toronto, ON
