FLYERS 2, ISLANDERS 1

For the third time this season, the Islanders fell to the Philadelphia Flyers by the score of 2-1, today at the Wachovia Center.  Josh Bailey pulled the Islanders within a goal after trailing by two for the good part of the first 40 minutes of regulation time.  Danny Briere and Scott Hartnell had the tallies for the Flyers.  The Islanders fall to 23-24-8 on the season and remain at the 54 point plateau. 

Briere put the Flyers up 1-0 with his 18th goal of the season 8:22 into the first period.  Darroll Powe collected a dump in by Jeff Carter behind the net and appeared to send the puck back around the boards but Briere quickly picked it up and came out from the left post and wrapped the puck under Islanders’ starter Dwayne Roloson for the early lead. 

On the power-play with less than three minutes remaining in the opening period, Philadelphia took a 2-0 lead. Hartnell completed an elongated give-and-go with Mike Richards for his 12 tally of the season.  Simon Gagne and Hartnell dug the puck out the left corner with Hartnell coming away with it and sending a passing to Richards, stationed at the point.  Richards waited for Hartnell to position himself along the right post before he slapped a pass back to Hartnell where he redirected the puck past Roloson’s glove to put the Flyers up by two. 

The Islanders would eliminate any thoughts of a shutout for Flyers’ starter Ray Emery, 14:44 into the second period.  After the Flyers had a goal disallowed because Hartnell ran over Roloson before the Kimo Timmonen’s point shot crossed the goal-line, the Islanders countered as Hartnell stepped out of the box.  Rob Schremp led a rush into the Philadelphia zone with Kyle Okposo and Josh Bailey at either side.  Schremp dished a pass behind the Flyer defenseman to Okposo, who cut in from the right circle and slipped a centering pass through skates to Bailey at the back-door for the easy tap in.  For Bailey, the marker was his 13th of the season to pull the Islanders within a goal, at 2-1. 

The Islanders pulled Roloson with less than a minute to play in the game and had two quality scoring chances but could not put the tying goal past Emery who finished the game as the number one star. 

Both teams finished the game with 32 shots, while the Islanders were 0-for-4 on the power-play and 5-for-6 on the penalty-kill. 

Tomorrow evening, the Islanders will visit the Florida Panthers for the final time this season at 5 p.m. from the BankAtlantic Center.  The Islanders will not return home until Saturday, Feb. 6 when they take on the Carolina Hurricanes at 7 p.m.  For tickets or information on how to receive group discounted pricing, contact the Islanders front office at (516) 501-6700 or e-mail groupsales@newyorkislanders.com.

3 Stars

1. Ray Emery – 31 saves to earn his 15th win of the season
2. Scott Hartnell – Was a force in front of the net, scoring the game-winning goal
3. Danny Briere – Opened the scoring with his 18th goal of the season
Honorable Mention: Josh Bailey – Scored his first goal since January 18 against New Jersey

Roomies: Speaking with Rob Schremp today, he spoke about his one year that he spent in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, PA with the Pittsburgh Penguins AHL affiliate.  He also mentioned his roommate for the year when he played, Dan Carcillo, who has become one of the best agitators in the game.  When asked if he could stir anything up before the game about his memories of Carcillo, he laughed and said, “ Are you kidding, I don’t want to get beat up out there.” 

Nice Birthday Gift: Today is Trevor Gillies 31st birthday and it comes on the day of his second career NHL game.  Gillies had 21 minutes in penalties in that game that he played for the Anaheim Mighty Ducks. 

Still Going: The Islanders still have not beaten the Philadelphia Flyers since the 2007-08 season.  Philadelphia is on a 15-game winning streak against the Islanders, which is the longest active winning streak in the NHL against any one opponent. 

Lineups

ISLANDERS

Forwards
12 Josh Bailey – 91 John Tavares – 21 Kyle Okposo
26 Matt Moulson – 51 Frans Nielsen – 7 Trent Hunter
16 Jon Sim – 13 Rob Schremp – 57 Blake Comeau
20 Sean Bergenheim – 93 Doug Weight – 10 Richard Park

Defensemen
2 Mark Streit – 8 Bruno Gervais
44 Freddy Meyer – 56 Dustin Kohn
25 Andy Sutton – 47 Andrew MacDonald

Goalies
30 Dwayne Roloson (starter)
43 Martin Biron

FLYERS

Forwards
12 Simon Gagne – 18 Mike Richards – 19 Scott Hartnell
28 Claude Giroux – 21 James van Riemsdyk – 45 Arron Asham
36 Darroll Powe – 17 Jeff Carter – 48 Danny Briere
13 Dan Carcillo – 11 Blair Betts – 14 Ian Laperriere

Defensemen
44 Kimo Timmonen – 5 Braydon Coburn
20 Chris Pronger – 25 Matt Carle
55 Ole-Kristian Tollefson

Goalies
29 Ray Emery (starter)
49 Michael Leighton