Islanders dismantle Flyers in Game 3 – ProHockeyTalk | NBC Sports

Usually, when this Flyers team goes up 1-0, they win — especially lately. But, in Game 3, the Islanders took things over basically since they went down 1-0, and beat the Flyers 3-1 to go up 2-1 in the Second Round series.

Following a tight first period that only included a 1-0 Tyler Pitlick goal, the Islanders dominated the second period. Did the Flyers sit on a lead a bit? It’s tough to tell, but either way, the Islanders kept the puck from the Flyers, and eventually took the lead.

Mathew Barzal beat Kevin Hayes to a puck, and Philippe Myers also got sucked in, giving Matt Martin plenty of room to score off of a great Barzal pass. For much of the second, it seemed like the Flyers might get off the hook with at least a tie, but then Leo Komarov scored with just six seconds left.

By just about every measure, the Flyers got stomped by the Islanders during the second period:

At 5-on-5 the Flyers have a 44.32 Corsi for percentage (39 shot attempts for, 49 shot attempts against) and a 31.15 Expected goals-for percentage. pic.twitter.com/XOeWbTLLuH

Things didn’t change much during the final frame, either. After a long stretch without penalties, Robert Hagg was whistled for two different infractions, with Anders Lee scoring a key power-play goal.

Lee ended up taking the only Islanders penalty after playing without his helmet, but the Flyers really didn’t get much going even in that desperate situation.

While the Islanders are getting a mix of offense from the expected (Barzal, Lee) and the unexpected (Komarov, Martin), the Flyers need a lot more from their top players. Claude Giroux has been limited to a single assist in this series, and hasn’t yet scored a goal (five assists, 12 games) during the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Semyon Varlamov was sharp overall, even though he didn’t get tested all that often (26 out of 27 saves). Honestly, it’s tough to pin much on Carter Hart, but this tight-checking series might come down to which goalie can be perfect, or close to it.

With these two teams slated for a back-to-back on Sunday (8 p.m. ET – NBC (livestream), the Flyers don’t have much time to search for answers. Then again, maybe it’s best to get back at it, and not let being dominated by the Islanders linger too much? We’ll see.

Game 1: Islanders 4, Flyers 0. (recap)Game 2: Flyers 4, Islanders 3 (OT). (recap)Game 3: Islanders 3, Flyers 1.Game 4: Sunday, Aug. 30, 8 p.m. ET – NBC (livestream)Game 5: Tuesday, Sept. 1,  7 p.m. ET – NBCSN (livestream)*Game 6: Thursday, Sept. 3 – TBD*Game 7: Saturday, Sept. 5 – TBD

James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.

With two goals in Game 4, Ondrej Palat continues to be a difference-maker for the Lightning. Along with a keyed-in Andrei Vasilevskiy stopping 29 out of 30 shots, the Bolts pushed the Bruins to the brink of elimination. We’ll see if there’s supplemental discipline for Nick Ritchie‘s hit on Yanni Gourde, but either way, the hit drew a major penalty, and proved to be another blow to the Bruins’ hopes. The Lightning have taken three consecutive games from the Bruins.

In Game 2, the Flyers coughed up a 3-0 lead, only to need overtime to win. This time, the Islanders fought back from a 1-0 deficit to dominate the Flyers for most of Game 3. The Islanders enjoyed a mix of offense from the usual suspects (Mathew Barzal, Anders Lee) and also depth players (Leo Komarov, Matt Martin). The Flyers couldn’t get much offense going, at all, and need to find answers with Game 4 taking place as the closer of a back-to-back set on Sunday (8 p.m. ET, NBC (livestream]).

Despite a strong first period from the Canucks, the Golden Knights managed two early goals to enter the intermission up 2-0. From there, the Golden Knights carried most of the play. Special teams ended up going Vegas’ way, with Mark Stone scoring the game’s only power-play goal. This was closer than a 3-0 game at times, but Vegas leads nonetheless, and both teams turn around for Game 4 on Sunday (10:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN [livestream]).

Again, the Canucks carried play early despite a 2-0 first period. Lehner loomed large — literally and figuratively – in shutting Vancouver out. For the second time in this series, Lehner pitched a shutout, this time being credited with 31 saves. Remarkably, Lehner has now shut out the Canucks four times: twice in the postseason, and twice during the regular season. It will be intriguing to see if the Golden Knights roll with Lehner in Game 4, or go with Marc-Andre Fleury consider the quick turnaround. But Lehner was exceptional in Game 3.

Vasilevskiy and the Lightning are on a three-game winning streak, pushing the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Bruins to the brink of elimination. During the past two wins, Vasilevskiy’s only allowed one goal apiece. This was a strong performance, and Vasilevskiy managed 29 saves, only allowing a power-play goal. His save percentage is now at .927 during this postseason run. As instrumental as Ondrej Palat (two goals) was in the Lightning win, Vasilevskiy was key.

All three goalies were instrumental in their teams’ wins on Saturday. Maybe a bit of a break did them good during the NHL return to playoff action? Varlamov was tested the least of these three, as the Islanders absolutely dominated the Flyers following Tyler Pitlick‘s funky 1-0 goal. Over his last three wins, Varlamov’s only allowed a single goal. Of course, Philly chased Varlamov in Game 2, but clearly that was an anomaly for the stingy Islanders and their alert, reliable starter.

Here’s how the Lightning pushed the Bruins to the brink of elimination in their Game 4:

Game 4: Avalanche vs. Stars (DAL leads series 2-1) – 6 p.m. ET, NBCSN (livestream)
Game 4: Flyers vs. Islanders (NYI leads series 2-1) – 8 p.m. ET, NBC (livestream)
Game 4: Canucks vs. Golden Knights (VGK leads series 2-1) – 10:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN (livestream)

The Golden Knights stuck with Robin Lehner after a tough Game 2, and he rewarded them as Vegas won Game 3 against the Canucks. Thanks in part to two early strikes, Vegas took Game 3 3-0 to take a 2-1 series lead vs. the Canucks.

While the Golden Knights flexed their muscles at times in Game 3, the Canucks put up more of a fight than the 3-0 score would indicate. At least early on.

On paper, the Canucks were the better team during the first period. Unfortunately for Vancouver, Vegas ended that opening frame up 2-0 on the scoreboard, though.

To start, Alex Tuch took advantage of another “alley-oop” pass to get behind the Canucks defense and score a key goal.

Despite some serious chances for the Canucks — Bo Horvat has to be shaking his head after Game 3 — Robin Lehner maintained the Golden Knights’ 2-0 lead through the first 20 minutes. After that, the Golden Knights looked dominant, but no one scored in the second.

Heading into the third, Vancouver had a nice chance, with almost a minute-and-a-half of power play time. Instead of getting back into the game, they left themselves vulnerable to a dagger goal. (The Canucks also couldn’t capitalize on a 5-on-3 power play, so it was a tough special teams contest for Vancouver.)

Six Canucks briefly ended up on the ice during that power play, ending it early. Mark Stone beautifully placed a top-shelf goal during the abbreviated power play, giving Vegas a suffocating 3-0 goal:

As much attention (and misconduct penalties) as Antoine Roussel garners, the Canucks haven’t really enjoyed much of an impact from supporting cast members. During most playoff runs, you need more than just your big stars to come through. Especially when an “x-factor” like Alex Tuch is chipping in almost as often as Mark Stone does for Vegas.

(Granted, Tuch wouldn’t be a mostly third-line winger if the Golden Knights weren’t so frighteningly deep.)

Naturally, it would also help Vancouver’s cause to solve Robin Lehner again. For the second time in three games, Lehner pitched a shutout, this time making 32 saves. Lehner also shut the Canucks out twice during the regular season, so he’s been a nuisance for Vancouver.

So far, the young Canucks have shown they can shrug off punches in ways people expect from more experienced teams. The Golden Knights are a heavyweight opponent that can test anyone (and disrupt most plans with their haymakers), so we’ll see if the Canucks can bounce back as Game 4 takes place on Sunday (10:30 p.m. ET – NBCSN [livestream]).

Game 1: Golden Knights 5, Canucks 0. (recap)Game 2: Canucks 5, Golden Knights 2. (recap)Game 3: Golden Knights 3, Canucks 0.Game 4: Sunday, Aug. 30, 10:30 p.m. ET – NBCSN (livestream)Game 5: Tuesday, Sept. 1, 9:45 p.m. ET – NBCSN (livestream)*Game 6: Thursday, Sept. 3 – TBD*Game 7: Friday, Sept. 4 – TBD

James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.

The Stanley Cup Playoffs continue on Saturday, Aug. 22 in the hub cities of Edmonton and Toronto. Now that the First Round is complete the full 2020 NHL Second Round playoff schedule has been announced.

The top four teams during the regular season in both conferences played a three-game round robin for seeding in the First Round. The eight winners of the best-of-5 Qualifying Round advanced to the First Round.

Rogers Place in Edmonton will host both the NHL’s 2020 Conference Finals and Stanley Cup Final.

Series preview
Game 1: Islanders 4, Flyers 0 (recap)Game 2: Flyers 4, Islanders 3 (OT) (recap)Game 3: Saturday, Aug. 29, 7 p.m. ET – NBCSN (livestream)Game 4: Sunday, Aug. 30, 8 p.m. ET – NBC (livestream)Game 5: Tuesday, Sept. 1,  7 p.m. ET – NBCSN (livestream)*Game 6: Thursday, Sept. 3 – TBD*Game 7: Saturday, Sept. 5 – TBD

Series preview
Game 1: Bruins 3, Lightning 2 (recap)Game 2: Lightning 4, Bruins 3 (OT) (recap)Game 3: Lightning 7, Bruins 1 (recap)Game 4: Saturday, Aug. 29, 12 p.m. ET – NBC (livestream)Game 5: Monday, Aug. 31, 7 p.m. ET – NBCSN (livestream)*Game 6: Wednesday, Sept. 2 – TBD*Game 7: Thursday, Sept. 3 – TBD

Series preview
Game 1: Golden Knights 5, Canucks 0 (recap)Game 2: Canucks 5, Golden Knights 2 (recap)Game 3: Golden Knights 3, Canucks 0 (recap)Game 4: Sunday, Aug. 30, 10:30 p.m. ET – NBCSN (livestream)Game 5: Tuesday, Sept. 1, 9:45 p.m. ET – NBCSN (livestream)*Game 6: Thursday, Sept. 3 – TBD*Game 7: Friday, Sept. 4 – TBD

Series preview
Game 1: Stars 5, Avalanche 3 (recap)Game 2: Stars 5, Avalanche 2 (recap)Game 3: Avalanche 6, Stars 4 (recap)Game 4: Sunday, Aug. 30, 6 p.m. ET – NBCSN (livestream)Game 5: Monday, Aug. 31, 9:45 p.m. ET – NBCSN (livestream)*Game 6: Wednesday, Sept. 2 – TBD*Game 7: Friday, Sept. 4 – TBD

EASTERN CONFERENCE
Philadelphia Flyers (3-0-0, 6 points)
Tampa Bay Lightning (2-1-0, 4 points)
Washington Capitals (1-1-1, 3 points)
Boston Bruins (0-3-0, 0 points)

WESTERN CONFERENCE
Vegas Golden Knights (3-0-0, 6 points)
Colorado Avalanche (2-1-0, 4 points)
Dallas Stars (1-2-0, 2 points)
St. Louis Blues (0-2-1, 1 point)

Sean Leahy is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @Sean_Leahy.

After missing 10 games due to injury, Tyler Toffoli returned to the lineup in Game 2 and scored 89 seconds into the game (and just nine seconds into his first shift). Vancouver jumped out to a 2-0 lead that they would not relinquish as the Canucks won 5-2 to even up the series at one game apiece.

After posting zero shots in Game 1, Elias Pettersson scored a goal and two assists in Game 2 to take his postseason scoring total to 16 points. The 21-year-old is tied with Pavel Bure for the most points through the first 12 games of a single postseason in Canucks franchise history. Pettersson has played in just 12 career playoff games and already he has six multi-point playoff games.

Two nights after Robin Lehner recorded his first career postseason shutout, he allowed four goals on 26 shots. Coach Peter DeBoer has not indicated who will start in Game 3, though prior to the postseason he said he would use both Lehner and Marc-Andre Fleury. Fleury’s only starts this postseason were once during the Round-robin, then in the first game of a back- to-back vs Chicago (the back-to-backs this series are scheduled for Games 5 and 6).

WHAT: Vancouver Canucks vs. Vegas Golden KnightsWHERE: Rogers Place – EdmontonWHEN: Saturday, August 29, 9:45 p.m. ETTV: NBCSNON THE CALL: Kenny Albert, Pierre McGuireLIVE STREAM: You can watch the Canucks-Golden Knights stream on NBC Sports’ live stream page and the NBC Sports app.

Game 1: Golden Knights 5, Canucks 0 (recap)Game 2: Canucks 5, Golden Knights 2 (recap)Game 3: Saturday, Aug. 29, 9:45 p.m. ET – NBCSN (livestream)Game 4: Sunday, Aug. 30, 10:30 p.m. ET – NBCSN (livestream)Game 5: Tuesday, Sept. 1, 9:45 p.m. ET – NBCSN (livestream)*Game 6: Thursday, Sept. 3 – TBD*Game 7: Friday, Sept. 4 – TBD

Source: https://nhl.nbcsports.com/2020/08/29/islanders-beat-flyers-in-game-3-isles-take-2-1-series-lead/

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