FINAL (2OT) | Round 2 – Game 6 | Thursday, September 3, 2020

Series Tied 3-3

Flyers Lineup

Claude Giroux – Scott Laughton – Jakub Voracek

James van Riemsdyk – Kevin Hayes – Travis Konecny

Oskar Lindblom – Derek Grant – Tyler Pitlick

Michael Raffl – Nate Thompson – Nicolas Aube-Kubel

Ivan Provorov – Matt Niskanen

Travis Sanheim – Philippe Myers

Robert Hagg – Justin Braun

Carter Hart – Brian Elliott

Andy Welinski, Andy Andreoff, Morgan Frost, Egor Zamula, Mark Friedman, Connor Bunnaman, Alex Lyon, Kirill Ustimenko, Shayne Gostisbehere

Sean Couturier (undisclosed – likely lower body), Joel Farabee (undisclosed – likely upper body)

Game Report

There were plenty of things to discuss leading into the Flyers’ Game Six matchup against the Islanders: would Sean Couturier play? Who would replace him if he didn’t? Was Joel Farabee injured on that hit by Adam Pelech? Would the Flyers be able to reproduce the magic that got them a victory in the previous game?

All of those questions were eventually answered, but they sat in the shadow of the biggest news to hit the ice in this playoffs: Oskar Lindblom returned to the lineup to play his first game since his cancer diagnosis in December. The outpouring of emotion by broadcasters, journalists, and fans simply rocked the hockey world prior to puck drop. Lindblom and Michael Raffl drew into the lineup to replace Couturier and Farabee, who both haven’t skated since the last game.

Despite the obvious jolt of motivation Lindblom’s presence likely had in the dressing room, the Flyers didn’t come out with quite as much jump as they did on Tuesday. In fact, it took them almost eight minutes to register a single shot on goal and the Islanders were all over them.

But out of nowhere, Kevin Hayes found the back of the net when he, Travis Konecny, and Robert Hagg completed a picture-perfect give-and-go sequence to put the Flyers on the board first.

Less than two minutes later, James van Riemsdyk lit the lamp for the second time in as many games when he fired a big slap shot right past Semyon Varlamov. For his part, Carter Hart made some big saves at his end of the ice to hold off the surging New York team. But Derick Brassard managed to get one of those goal back for the Islanders before the intermission when he deflected a pass by Devon Toews.

In the second period, Matt Martin scored a game-tying goal as Casey Cizikas went sliding into Hart after taking a solid bump from Justin Braun. In a move that puzzled many media members and fans alike, Alain Vigneault challenged for goaltender interference. It wasn’t much of a surprise when, for the third time in these playoffs, Vigneault’s challenge failed and the Flyers found themselves shorthanded.

Unfortunately, the Islanders capitalized on that mistake and Anders Lee gave his team their first lead of the night. The Flyers struggled through the middle frame, committing a lot of turnovers, and not finding a way to get shots on Varlamov. Finally, Raffl was able to tie the game at 3-3 when he got to the front of the net and banged in a rebound.

The Islanders didn’t let up, however, and Hart saw way more shots than the New York netminder did. Just when it seemed Philadelphia would get to the third period with an even score, Mat Barzal scored a sharp-angle goal through Travis Sanheim with less than 30 seconds left in the period.

Hart was a big story in the third period, as he was greatly tested on two New York power plays, one of which came in the final three minutes of the game. Scott Laughton breathed some life into the Flyers bench when he buried a shot on a breakaway, going forehand/backhand and firing the puck top shelf.

But for the third time in this series, extra minutes were needed. And then some. In the first overtime period, Hart was the story for the Flyers. They struggled to keep the Islanders out of the defensive zone and the Philly goaltender had to come up with a number of big stops to save his team’s season.

Despite getting two power play opportunities in overtime, the Flyers still couldn’t convert and the game extended to a second OT period, but that’s as far as it would go. Ivan Provorov wired a huge blast from the point past Varlamov to win it for the Flyers and force a game seven on Saturday.

Plus / Minus

▲  Oskar Lindblom, Carter Hart, Scott Laughton, Tyler Pitlick

▼  Travis Sanheim