B Team! Beauvillier, Barzal Lead Islanders to Shootout Victory over Flyers

UNIONDALE, N.Y. — It was a pair of Bs that helped the New York Islanders pick up two crucial points on Saturday night.

Anthony Beauvillier scored twice and Mathew Barzal scored the game-winner in the shootout as the Islanders defeated the Philadelphia Flyer 3-2 at the Nassau Coliseum. The victory in the shootout helped salvage a game that saw the Islanders allow a two-goal lead to slip away after Beauvillier scored twice in the first two periods.

The multi-goal effort from Beauvillier was his first of the 2020-21 season and continued a strong stretch for the 23-year-old that has seen him score six goals over his last seven games.

“I thought it was a weird game the way it played out, but we did a good job kind of just sticking with the process at the end there,” Beauvillier said. “It’s never easy when you lead and you come back and have a push. I thought we did a good job just kind of managing the game at the end. Huge two points for us.”

📹 Beauvillier & Martin Postgame Availability 📹 pic.twitter.com/i00QZPwGWz

— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) April 4, 2021

It was Barzal that finished off Philadelphia in the shootout with the shot that beat Philadelphia starter, Carter Hart.

“I’ve played Hartsy a few times now and I feel like it’s kind of been fifty-fifty,” Barzal said of his shootout goal. “He’s gotten the better of me a little bit and I’ve scored a few times. It’s kind of a fun matchup. I just found a little hole there on the left side and buried it.”

Ilya Sorokin made 30 saves on Saturday night to pick up his ninth win of the season. Sorokin also stopped all four Philadelphia shooters during the shootout.

Saturday’s game was one that saw the New York Islanders limited to the number of shots in the game. They were held to 10 shots total through the first 40 minutes before registering 11 in the final period of regulation. New York had all three shots on net in the extra period.

Beauvillier scored his first of two goals on the night at the 12:01 mark of the first period with Islanders on the power play. The Isles were moving the puck around when Jordan Eberle moved the puck down low to Matt Martin, who sent an impressive no-look pass to Beauvillier.

The New York Islanders forward was able to put it easily past a diving Carter Hart for the game’s opening goal.

Beauvillier made it 2-0 for the Islanders in the second period on a hustle play that started and ended with him. Beauvillier managed to hold the puck in at the blue line by swiping it over to Mathew Barzal, who then returned the puck back to Beauvillier for the goal in the slot.

🚨Beauvillier with his 2nd of the night🚨 pic.twitter.com/zNRcqe6uB1

— Isles on MSG+ (@IslesMSGN) April 4, 2021

Philadelphia mounted a comeback in the third period with Claude Giroux scoring a pair to get his side back in the game. His first of the evening came at the  6:38 mark of the period when Giroux beat Sorokin with a backhander down low.

Giroux came up big again with 9:28 left in the game. The Philadelphia forward fired the puck through traffic and beat Sorokin again to even the game at two.

“We lost the one little board battle and then it popped in there,” Islanders coach Barry Trotz said about the third period. “They made a good play. They made two two really good plays and they hit their spot of the first one because we lost a man losing a battle in the corner. Then on the second one they dumped it in a little bit on a rim and they bumped it back behind and they hit the high slot. … They just executed and give them credit for that.”

Ross Johnston exited the game early on after dropping the gloves with Samuel Morin 2:47 into the first period. Trotz did not have an update on Johnston after the game.

Oliver Wahlstrom also left the game for a period of time, but did return to the bench.