Semyon Varlamov sharp as Isles beat Flyers in Game 3 to take 2-1 series lead
Islanders defenseman Ryan Pulock celebrates with goaltender Semyon Varlamov after defeating the Flyers in NHL Stanley Cup Eastern Conference playoff hockey game action in Toronto on Saturday. Credit: AP/Frank Gunn
The Islanders got back to business on Saturday night.
Not just playing hockey after the NHL players initiated a two-day shutdown of the playoffs to protest social injustice. But playing the way they’re so comfortable playing.
They outskated the Flyers in a 3-1 win in Game 3 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto to take a 2-1 series lead heading into Sunday night’s Game 4. They got crucial goals from bottom-six forwards Matt Martin and Leo Komarov and their defensemen’s breakout passes helped maximize the team’s speed.
“It’s the way we’re sort of built,” Islanders coach Barry Trotz said. “We’re not probably blessed with a lot of those top-end guys. When you get contributions right through the whole lineup, you’ve got a chance to win every night. It goes to the Islanders’ concept.”
Semyon Varlamov made 26 saves, his biggest robbing Joel Farabee at the crease at 10:02 of the third period to preserve a two-goal lead. He also made four saves on the Flyers’ lone power play late in the third period as the Flyers skated six-on-four with Carter Hart (26 saves) off for an extra skater.
It rewarded Trotz’s decision to go back to him after Varlamov allowed three goals on 10 shots in 15:09 of the Islanders’ 4-3 overtime loss in Wednesday’s Game 2.
“In the playoffs, you have to be able to bounce back,” said captain Anders Lee, whose power-play goal on a backhander at the crease that Hart mistakenly played as a pass to Mathew Barzal made it 3-1 at 3:41 of the third period. “You have to understand the position in the series. You expect a long series. You can’t dwell on the past. After a loss, you’ve got to be the team that wants it more the next night.”
But just as the Islanders have followed their three losses in the postseason with wins, the Flyers have not lost consecutive games since completing a 1-4-1 road trip on Jan. 7.
“I know this group and their ability to bounce back,” Flyers coach Alain Vigneault said. “I think we are going to go home tonight all knowing we could play a lot better than we did.”
Game 3 was originally scheduled for Thursday night before the players opted out for two days.
“I think it speaks volumes to the players we have in this league, the support we have for one another, that we have each other’s backs,” Lee said. “Young kids, they look up to us and think we can set a great example of unity.”
The winner of the Islanders-Flyers series will face either the Lightning or the Bruins in the Eastern Conference final, which will be played in Edmonton. The Lightning took a commanding 3-1 series lead with a 3-1 win in Game 4 on Saturday.
The Islanders’ 2-1 lead going into the third period on Saturday wasn’t commanding, but it was indicative of how dominant they were in the second period.
“We didn’t have a good first period,” said Martin, who took Barzal’s feed from the right corner at the crease to tie the game at 1-1 at 7:12 of the second period. “We came out with a strong second and took the game over from there.”
Still, the Flyers nearly made it to the second intermission with the game tied. But Derick Brassard, keeping the puck in the Flyers’ zone and then retrieving his own rebound, outmuscled defenseman Matt Niskanen for the puck behind the crease and, while falling to the ice, found Komarov open in the low slot. Komarov’s backhand trickled over the goal line for his first of the playoffs with 5.1 seconds remaining.
Tyler Pitlick had given the Flyers a 1-0 lead at 14:18 of the first period but the Islanders took 14 of the next 15 shots, including Martin’s equalizer.
“We just lost it,” Vigneault said. “We stopped being first on pucks. Our players stopped making the plays that we needed to make with the puck.”
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
