Saturday, March 20, 2021 07:00 PM (ET)

Islanders start fast, cruise past Flyers

Field Level Media
Mar 20, 2021

Casey Cizikas scored twice in a four-goal first period Saturday night and the host New York Islanders cruised to a 6-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers at Uniondale, N.Y.

Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Jordan Eberle also scored in the first while Anthony Beauvillier and Josh Bailey scored in the third for the Islanders, who snapped a two-game losing streak. Rookie Ilya Sorokin made 23 saves as he won his seventh straight start.

Thomas Hickey, appearing in his first NHL game since May 3, 2019, had two assists.

Joel Farabee scored in the first and goalie Carter Hart recorded 22 saves for the Flyers, who endured their second lopsided defeat of the week while losing for the sixth time in nine games. Philadelphia gave up seven second-period goals Wednesday in a 9-0 loss to the New York Rangers.

Pageau pounced on a rebound of a shot by Oliver Wahlstrom to open the scoring at 6:11 before Hickey's wraparound into a traffic-filled crease led to the second goal just 1:50 later. An initial stab by Mathew Barzal was unsuccessful but Eberle got to the loose puck and fired past a crease surrounded by six players.

Cizikas extended the lead to 4-0 by scoring twice in a span of 5:22. First the center stole the puck from Nate Prosser at the Flyers' blue line, raced untouched towards Hart and fired a shot over his glove with 9:57 left. Cizikas then won a puck battle with Erik Gustafsson along the boards to begin a sequence he ended by putting back the rebound of Hickey's shot with 4:35 remaining.

Islanders defenseman Adam Pelech fell trying to corral the puck just beyond center ice to set up the Flyers' lone goal 2:27 later. Scott Laughton got a stick on the puck and dished to Farabee, who raced in and fired a shot under Sorokin's glove.

A pair of Flyers turnovers near their net resulted in the Islanders' two insurance goals in the third. Beauvillier got a stick on a pass by Prosser before the puck bounced to Nelson, who passed back to Beauvillier to set up the left winger's goal with 11:15 left.

Bailey capped the scoring when he picked off a clearing pass by Hart and sent a shot past the sprawling goalie with 4:14 remaining.

--Field Level Media

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