Some takeaways from Flyers’ 4-3 shootout win over the Islanders

Tyson Foerster had a pair, Sam Ersson was big, and the Flyers eliminated New York with a 4-3 shootout win.

Apr 12, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Flyers right wing Tyson Foerster (71) controls the puck against the New York Islanders in the second period at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

Tyson Foerster nearly had a second hat trick in as many games, Sam Ersson was solid, and the Flyers booted the Islanders from playoff contention with a 4-3 shootout win Saturday afternoon in Philadelphia.

The basics

First period: No scoring

Second period: 3:28- Tyson Foerster (Sean Couturier, Matvei Michkov) (PPG), 10:54- Anders Lee (Noah Dobson, Tony DeAngelo) (PPG), 17:58- Noah Dobson (Bo Horvat, Scott Mayfield)

Third period: 4:29- Jakob Pelletier (Owen Tippett, Ryan Poehling), 10:34- Tyson Foerster (Owen Tippett, Noah Cates), 18:59- Bo Horvat (Tony DeAngelo, Anders Lee)

Overtime: No scoring

Shootout: Travis Konecny – No goal, Bo Horvat – No goal, Matvei Michkov – No goal, Maxim Tsyplakov – No goal, Tyson Foerster – No goal, Simon Holmstrom – No goal, Owen Tippett – No goal, Tony DeAngelo – No goal, Bobby Brink – Goal, Kyle Palmieri – No goal

SOG: 22 (PHI) – 39 (NYI)

Some takeaways

Michkov not missing any time

After taking a high stick earlier in the week which caused some bleeding, Matvei Michkov was back in the lineup on Saturday afternoon. Michkov missed Friday’s practice for precautionary reasons only. Michkov managed to get a backhand pass across the crease but Sean Couturier was unable to connect. The Flyers first good chance was from Jamie Drysdale who hit the post after beating Islanders goalie Marcus Hogberg. Minutes later Nic Deslauriers also hit iron. Michkov got behind the Islanders defense and had a breakaway attempt but missed the net wide on the stickside.

Unless he puts up some multi-point games this week, it seems as if Michkov will be a nominee for the Calder. But the winner? It’s beginning to look more doubtful. Michkov hit the 60-point mark on the opening goal of the game with a secondary assist. Perhaps the best part of that play was how Michkov broke up an Islanders chance, taking the puck away from Kyle Palmieri and quickly transitioning.

Foerster fiery

The Flyers scored a power play goal on a four-man rush in the second period. Actually thanks to the official accidentally running interference on one of the Islanders, it was a four-on-one. Tyson Foerster took the puck from Sean Couturier and put a nice backhand over Hogberg’s blocker.

It was Foerster’s fourth goal in two games, upping his total to 23 for the season. That 23rd goal was followed the following period with his 24th thanks to a great pass from Owen Tippett (looking Michkov-esque on the last two Flyers goals). The 25-goal plateau is well within reach after the last two games, when last weekend many doubted Foerster would hit 20 for the season. Foerster nearly got his third of the afternoon when he looked to have an open net on a delayed penalty but the puck was deflected wide.

Clean sheet for Dorwart

After being on the radar for his NHL debut, Karsen Dorwart was relatively a non-factor through the opening 40 minutes. Dorwart found himself with the second-least amount of time (7:10) after two periods, and just six seconds more than Deslauriers. Dorwart finished with 10:30 for the game with no shots on goal and no points.

All-Star Game vibe, minus a lot of all stars

With the Islanders mathematically alive but practically eliminated, both teams opted to play a low-intensity game that kept the clock running and kept the majority of those on the ice free from a lot of physical contact. It wasn’t pond hockey where the teams were trading chances left and right, but there was an overall looseness to the tilt that didn’t have much chippiness. The lone exception was late in the second when Jean-Gabriel Pageau appeared to catch Garnet Hathaway with the butt end of his stick. Nothing came of it.

Pelletier perfect

As nifty as the Islanders passing play was on their second goal, the Flyers tied the game 2-2 on another strong passing play. Jakob Pelletier beat Hogberg with a backhand shot on a play that developed from Ryan Poehling feeding Tippett. The assist was another point for Poehling while Pelletier showed some of his potential with the nifty shot between Hogberg’s pads.

Ersson strong

Sam Ersson got the start and was a little bit busy a wee bit into the contest. Stopping the play twice in the first three minutes, Ersson saw his best stop early during a three-on-one that he shut down, nabbing the first shot but being in position to ensure the rebound didn’t get by him. Roughly 13 minutes into the first an Alexander Romanov backhander was stymied by Ersson. He was perfect in the opening 20, even stoppinng Egor Zamula’s stick from going by him on one Islanders shot.

In the second the Islanders had one or two extended shifts in the Flyers end and Ersson held strong. That was despite not knowing where the puck was sometimes. After Cam York took a minor penalty in the second the New York took advantage off. A nice passing play started by former Flyer Tony DeAngelo (still on Philadelphia’s cap for a few more games) was capped off by Anders Lee tipping in a Noah Dobson pass. Ersson had basically no chance as the Islanders tied things up.

Late in the second, with the ice tilted heavily in the Islanders’ favor the full 20 minutes, New York went ahead. A great backhand pass by Bo Horvat to Noah Dobson left Dobson alone on Ersson, sliding the puck between Ersson for a well-deserved 2-1 lead.

The Flyers hung around with New York, playing rope-a-dope in the second but having a strong third period to take the lead. But if it wasn’t for Ersson keeping them in it (and the Isles missing some chances), this game would’ve been a laugher halfway through. Unfortunately (for those wanting the Flyers to win) New York tied the game 3-3 with 61 seconds left in regulation. In the shootout Ersson looked like he tweaked something in his left leg on a save on Simon Holmstrom. However, he stayed in to get the victory.

Amusing quasi-coincidentals

After Drysdale took a tripping minor in the first period, the Islanders set up to the right of Ersson. However, just three seconds later Anders Lee took a tripping minor, negating the power play but opening up the ice for some four-on-four play. The downside of course was the three-second power play was another attempt which dropped the power play success percentage back down marginally.

Poehling opts against his pound of flesh

Poehling missed a lot of time after getting hit high by Maxim Tsyplakov earlier in the season. But Poehling — playing in his first game against Tsyplaykov since the incident (and subsequent suspension) — made no attempt at getting his own revenge. Instead, Poehling had a chance to make it a 2-1 game for Philadelphia but decided to make a backhanded pass to nobody in the second period. A better option would’ve been to shoot, particularly his hot hand.

It’s not that the situation wasn’t addressed, as former Flyer Scott Laughton fought Tsyplakov earlier in the year.