Islanders beat Flyers on Leddy's OT goal
PHILADELPHIA -- New York defenseman Nick Leddy snapped a centering pass from Josh Ho-Sang past Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Brian Elliott with 2:44 gone in overtime to give the Islanders a 5-4 comeback win on Friday at the Wells Fargo Center.
Forwards Mathew Barzal, Cal Clutterbuck, Jordan Eberle and Andrew Ladd scored goals in regulation for the Islanders, who trailed 4-2 entering the third period.
It was the second straight overtime win over the Flyers for the Islanders, who won for the fifth time in six games. They are now six points ahead of the Flyers in the Metropolitan Division standings.
Goaltender Thomas Greiss turned aside 26 shots to earn the win.
Claude Giroux, Wayne Simmonds, Shayne Gostisbehere and Sean Couturier all scored in the second period for the Flyers, who have lost seven games in a row (0-3-4), their longest skid since losing 10 in a row in 2007-08.
Elliott made 32 saves in the loss for Philadelphia.
Trailing 4-2 after two periods, the Islanders drew within one goal when Eberle scored his second power-play goal of the season at the 4:12 mark.
It was the sixth power-play goal scored by the Islanders in five games and the ninth power-play goal allowed by the Flyers in five games.
Ladd tied the score with 7:49 remaining in regulation when he scored on a pass from Eberle from about 5 feet in front of the crease.
Barzal gave the Islanders a 1-0 lead with his sixth goal with 14.1 seconds remaining in the opening period. He entered the game ranked second in the NHL among rookies with 20 points.
The Flyers, who have not won a game since Nov. 9, took over in the second period, scoring four goals on seven shots. Giroux knotted the score with a one-timer from the high slot at the 3:49 mark, and Simmonds gave the Flyers a 2-1 lead when he put a Gostisbehere rebound past Greiss for his first goal in 15 games.
Clutterbuck's deflection goal, his fourth of the season, tied the score at 2-2, but back-to-back goals by Gostisbehere and Couturier gave the Flyers a two-goal cushion entering the third period. Gostisbehere's goal, his second of the season, snapped a 13-game drought.
Couturier's goal, his team-high 13th, came on an aggressive forecheck by Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov, who extended his points streak to four games.
NOTES: Flyers rookie LW Danick Martel played his second NHL game on a second line with rookie C Nolan Patrick and RW Wayne Simmonds, pushing LW Jordan Weal (2 goals, 4 assists in 20 games) down to a fourth line. ... Islanders LW Jason Chimera played in his 210th consecutive NHL game, the longest current streak on the club. ... The Islanders play their third game in four nights Saturday in Ottawa when they face the Senators for the first time this season, then return home for games against the Canucks and Senators. ... The Flyers are back in action Monday night when they visit the Pittsburgh Penguins for their first game of the season against their division rivals, followed by home games against the Sharks and Bruins.