Rapid Recap: Bailey Bails Out Islanders Sloppy Showing, Dobson Plays Hero

It was not pretty, but the New York Islanders escaped Philadelphia with a 4-3 overtime win over the Flyers for their second consecutive win against their opposition. The Islanders entered the third period with the lead and, despite losing it, were able to battle back to tie the score before taking the game with just seconds remaining in the extra frame.

Here’s your Rapid Recap:

GAME LINES:

Lee-Nelson-Beauvillier
Bellows-Pageau-Bailey
Johnston-Koivula-Soshnikov
Martin-Cizikas-Bardreau

Pelech-Hutton
Romanov-Dobson
Aho-LaDue

Sorokin
Schneider

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Period 1: 

There were no goals scored in the first period.

Period 2: 

The Philadelphia Flyers scored the first goal of the contest, a shorthanded goal by Scott Laughton just 2:09 minutes into the middle frame. After picking off an Anthony Beauvillier pass in the neutral zone, Laughton deked to the backhand and slid the puck through the wickets of New York Islanders netminder Ilya Sorokin.

The New York Islanders tied the contest at one at 16:13 of the second period while on the power play as Josh Bailey tapped home a sliding puck following a scramble in front of Flyers netminder Troy Grosenick. Matt Martin and Kieffer Bellows were credited with the assists.

The Islanders took a 2-1 lead on a Casey Cizikas shorthanded goal as he deked around Flyers defenseman Cam York before lunging at the loose puck, which beat Grosenick through the wickets. Josh Bailey and Adam Pelech were credited with the assists at 18:22 of the second period.

THE OT WINNER. pic.twitter.com/4EJDM3wToI

— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) October 5, 2022

Period 3:

Owen Tippett tied the contest at two as he finished off a 2-on-1 just over five minutes played in the third period. Kevin Hayes and Scott Laughton were credited with the assists. An errand step by Alexander Romanov created the odd-man rush.

Tanner Laczynski gave the Flyers a 3-2 lead at 8:53 of the third period as after Grant Hutton failed to hold a puck into the Flyer zone, Laczynski beat Ilya Sorokin under the right pad via the breakaway chance. Nicolas Deslauriers and Justin Braun were credited with the assists.

Anders Lee knotted the score at three apiece at 12:19 of the third period as he deflected a deflection following an initial point shot by Adam Pelech. Brock Nelson had the initial tip in the high slot, earning him the primary assist on the goal.

Overtime:

While on the power play, Noah Dobson blasted a one-timer with under eight seconds to pay in the overtime period to give the Islanders a 4-3 win. Anthony Beauvillier and Josh Bailey were credited with the assists on the game-winner.

TAKEAWAYS:

Structure Takes Step Back

The New York Islanders showcased an improved structure in Sunday’s contest, but on Tuesday, it was all out of sorts. The Philadelphia Flyers had plenty of odd-man rush chances. The Flyers scored all three goals that way, with two coming on breakaways and one coming on a 2-on-1.

The Islanders will win games because of their structure and there are only two games remaining in the preseason for everyone to get on the same page before the start of the regular season.

Hutton Given Big Opportunity, Makes One Mistake

As of now, 23-year-old Robin Salo has earned the sixth and final starting defenseman job. But the seventh defenseman spot is still up for grabs, and Grant Hutton was given a chance to prove his worth as he slotted into the lineup Tuesday alongside Adam Pelech.

Grant Hutton is the strongest defenseman fighting for the final spot, with both Sebastian Aho and Dennis Cholowski not showing that they can consistently defend at the NHL level.

And at the age of 27, Hutton is running out of time to live out his NHL dream.

The biggest attractiveness to Hutton from a management point of view is that he plays a calm game on the defensive side of the puck. He seems to always be in the proper position and, when he can, is usually accurate when shooting the puck on goal.

He did make a mistake on the Flyers third goal as he failed to corral a puck at the Flyers blue line leading to the Tanner Laczynski breakaway goal.

🚨 3-2! 🚨@tannlaczynski gives us the lead with a breakaway beauty. #NYIvsPHI pic.twitter.com/FIzd7UzVzq

— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) October 5, 2022

Grant Hutton played 19:53 minutes with one shot on goal with four attempts.

Player of the Game:

New York Islanders forward Josh Bailey padded the stat sheet tonight as he had a goal and two assists, along with five shots and a block in 18:37 minutes played. Stats aside, Bailey looked engaged out there. He was in the right position at the right times, setting up his teammates in the offensive zone throughout the entirety of the night. Despite a sloppy performance by the Islanders, Bailey was anything but.

Although just a preseason game, the Islanders need Bailey to play more like he did Tuesday. He doesn’t need to rack up the points every night but just has to be a reliable option for Lane Lambert.

Up Next: The New York Islanders will host the New Jersey Devils at UBS Arena on Thursday, Oct. 6, for game five of the preseason. Puck drop is slated for 7 PM.