The Flyers had a 3-0 lead in the second period, but saw that erased by the end of period two. The dynamic duo of Trevor Zegras and Sam Ersson in the shootout frame was enough as Philadelphia defeated the host New York Islanders 4-3 on Friday afternoon.
The basics
First period: 8:30- Tyson Foerster (Unassisted), 8:52- Sean Couturier (Unassisted)
Second period: 1:48- Trevor Zegras (Emil Andrae, Matvei Michkov) (PPG), 5:42- Emil Heineman (Jonathan Drouin, Kyle Palmieri), 8:11- Matthew Schaefer (Anthony Duclair, Ryan Pulock), 19:13- Anders Lee (Maxim Shabanov, Matthew Schaefer) (PPG)
Third period: No scoring
Overtime: No scoring
Shootout: Trevor Zegras- Goal, Mathew Barzal- No goal, Matvei Michkov- No goal, Simon Holmstrom- Goal, Travis Konecny- Goal, Bo Horvat- No goal
SOG: 21 (PHI) – 31 (NYI)
Some takeaways
A 2-0 lead? Yes.
The Flyers had all of three shots in the first nine minutes of the game. But thanks to two bad Islander turnovers, Philadelphia had a quick 2-0 lead. A giveaway in the middle of the ice led to Tyson Foerster beating David Rittich with a wrister for the game’s opening goal.
Tys will take that one, thx! #PHIvsNYI | #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/2cWxkQMZON
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) November 28, 2025
Then, 22 seconds later, the Islanders made another disastrous gaffe that put the puck on Sean Couturier’s stick. Couturier ended a goalless drought with a low wrist shot that hit the iron and went in. It was almost a flashback of the three goals in 26 seconds against New Jersey. But Philadelphia didn’t score in the ensuing few seconds.
We like to score in bunches.#PHIvsNYI | #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/XXpGYYt1O0
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) November 28, 2025
The Flyers ended the first with three shots on goal, riding the 2-0 lead into the first intermission and delivering a rather textbook (and boring) road period. Plenty of tight checking, hardly any flow through the neutral zone, and making the most of their chances. This despite the Corsi For percentage after 20 minutes being a horrid 28.57 per cent five-on-five (down 8-20). It wasn’t pretty, but points aren’t awarded for style.
Michkov watch
After 20 minutes, Matvei Michkov has the second fewest minutes (3:52) in usage with only Bobby Brink (2:24) being used less. With two penalty kills the Flyers saw their special teams used a little more. But it wasn’t a huge highlight reel period for the Mad Russian. Both Brink and Michkov was used on the Flyers’ second power play alongside Couturier. The line didn’t generate anything despite keeping the puck in New York’s zone. Fortunately, Tocchet was using Michkov (who had an assist on the Flyers power play goal) a bit more in the middle period as after 40 minutes he had 10:15.
With the score tied 3-3, Michkov slithered across the Islanders blueline early in the third, but his shot through traffic was stopped by Rittich. Unfortunately, Michkov took a needless four-minute high-sticking penalty after a fantastic game-saving stop by Sam Ersson on Calum Ritchie with just over six minutes to go in regulation. Tocchet didn’t tie Michkov to the bench, as he was on the ice with under a minute left as the Flyers earned the one point through regulation. And also during overtime. A ridiculous play by Ersson to try to keep play alive nearly bounced off Michkov back into Philadelphia’s net. Overall Michkov (who was foiled in the shootout), ended up with nearly 16 minutes of ice time (15:55) and looked, aside from the high-sticking penalty, not bad.
Special teams
The Flyers got in penalty trouble early when Tyson Foerster was called for high-sticking. They were quite efficient in not allowing any chances and spending very little time in their own end. Later in the first, in the Islanders zone, Rodrigo Abols dove for the puck but caught Islander forward Simon Holmstrom, resulting in a tripping minor. New York, who were 0-for-23 entering the game, were far from great on this one, with Philadelphia getting in the lanes and keeping things nice and tidy in front of Ersson.
Meanwhile, the Flyers got their first power play late in the first, most of which carried over into the second. The Flyers had some good looks including one by Emil Andrae which didn’t connect. Finally, Philadelphia hit paydirt when Trevor Zegras got a fortunate bounce to get a power play goal and a 3-0 lead for the Flyers.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯#PHIvsNYI | #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/zBrYlQxNpu
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) November 28, 2025
The Flyers biggest test of the night was trying to kill a four-minute high-sticking penalty to Michkov. Emil Heineman had a one-timer that nailed the crossbar. But outside of that the Flyers were great, saving Michkov’s hide and keeping the game tied.
Ersson was fine
Ersson has one game with a save percentage over .900. That was a month ago against the Penguins. On Black Friday, the netminder had another chance to continue his mastery over the Islanders as he was unbeaten in four games over his career. Ersson was tested early as Jonathan Drouin had a chance in the slot. And he was a bit fortunate nearly eight minutes in when Maxim Shabanov beat him but hit iron. The chance came after Nick Seeler delivered a nice, heavy hit on Ritchie.
In the second, after a terrible gaffe by Emil Andrae which ended up behind Ersson, the Islanders found another gear, forcing their way into the Philadelphia zone far easier than they did in the first. Ersson was tested a bit in the second, keeping the Flyers ahead while trying to stop some momentum New York was gaining. Philadelphia appeared to regain their composure later in the second, turning the tide back in their favor. He also had a huge save on Mathew Barzal before Anders Lee scored the game-tying goal late in period two on a deflection. The Islanders had a man advantage thanks to a rather questionable tripping call on Travis Konecny that had the Flyers forward chuckling at what happened.
ANDERS LEE TIPS IN MATTHEW SCHAEFER’S SHOT TO TIE THE GAME! pic.twitter.com/jk3TQY5S1s
— Islanders Videos (@SNY_Islanders) November 28, 2025
Ersson was fine the rest of the way, including the overtime and in the shootout. And he just eked over the .900 save percentage for the night, ending the evening at .903.
Andrae’s awful miscue
Emil Andrae was having a good game. But a mental miscue by him was costly. Islanders forward Kyle Palmieri looked to be hurt as the Flyers went up ice. Officials never blew the whistle. The puck went back to Andrae, who, didn’t realize Palmieri was behind him. Palmieri (who never returned to the game) stripped Andrae of the puck, which went to Emil Heineman who beat Ersson to get New York on the board and make it a 3-1 game. Head coach Rick Tocchet was clearly pissed at what transpired. As good as Andrae has been at times, it’s mistakes like that he still needs to iron out of his game.
#Flyers 3 @ #Isles 1 [P2–14:18]:
Goal: Emil Heineman (10)
35′ Deep Snapshot
Assists: J.Drouin (12), K.Palmieri (12)#LetsGoFlyers #Islanders #NHL pic.twitter.com/0AZLRpjcMU
— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalsVideo) November 28, 2025
The gaffe seemed to energize the Islanders who minutes later made it a 3-2 lead as rookie sensation Matthew Schaefer beat Ersson low on the glove side. The Flyers needed to get back in control and had a few chances to make it 4-2, but Michkov missed on a chance near the side of the goal.
All stats courtesy of Natural Stat Trick