On paper, the New York Islanders were the favorites. The lineup iced by the Islanders included more NHL players than the Philadelphia Flyers. Additionally, on home ice at the UBS Arena, travel was a non-factor.
However, the Flyers were scrappy in their first taste of the 2025 NHL Preseason. Each club had the advantage on the scoreboard in this back-and-forth affair. On Long Island, Philadelphia forced overtime, but the decision required an extended shootout. Alexei Kolosov and David Rittich started the preseason exhibition between these clubs, but Carson Bjarnason and Parker Gahagen finished.
“I love the enthusiasm. All camp, the work ethic’s been top-notch. We have to work on changes, odd-man rushes; you can’t play that way. But, saying that, the effort was great. I love the resolve. There’s some good stuff out there on tape, but there’s some stuff that we got to go over.” – Rick Tocchet; 9/21/2025
Here’s how the duel between the Flyers and Islanders played out on Sunday night.
First Period
Shots: 9-5, Flyers
Score: 1-0, Flyers
Rodrigo Ābols helped Philadelphia take the early advantage on the scoreboard, 1-0, with 17:18 remaining in the first period. Matthew Schaefer accepted a pass from Scott Mayfield, looking to move the puck through the neutral zone to Hunter Drew. Instead, Jack Nesbitt picked off the pass, then dished to Ābols. A well-aimed wrist shot beat Rittich on his glove side to provide a lead in the first period.
Emil Andrae served a minor penalty for interference, drawn by Kyle Palmieri. The Flyers defended well on the penalty kill, not allowing a shot on goal as Andrae sat in the penalty box. Philadelphia finished 3/3 (100%) on the penalty kill.
Alexis Gendron, Lane Pederson, and Devin Kaplan pressured Rittich in back-to-back sequences. Displaying the speed seen throughout camp, Gendron dashed into the offensive zone to set up Pederson in high-danger areas. Rittich made crucial saves to keep the Flyers within reach. Before the period finished, Pederson (upper-body) would exit the game after taking a hit.
A final observation before the end of the first period has everything to do with the defensive awareness of Spencer Gill. He couldn’t control a slot pass from Noah Cates in the offensive zone, yet he cruised back into the defensive zone to eliminate a two-on-one rush. His hustle simplified the options for Kolosov, who didn’t need to worry about sliding across the crease to stop a potential cross-ice set-up. Gill kept with his defensive assignment, allowing Kolosov to remain in position to read the shot on goal and make the save.
Second Period
Shots: 18-17, Flyers
Score: 2-1, Islanders
No one needed to wait a long time for the first ‘Michigan’ attempt of the 2025 NHL Preseason. Between Matvei Michkov and Trevor Zegras, Philadelphia will have plenty of time for that sans John Tortorella. Michkov tried it against Rittich, but didn’t score.
Palmieri did tie the game, 1-1, with 15:59 remaining in the second period. Mayfield cycled the puck near the blue line to Schaefer, who generated a rebound. Kolosov made the initial save, but Palmieri cashed the rebound.
Not to be deterred, the Flyers kept firing shots against Rittich. Nikita Grebenkin set up Zegras for a high-danger scoring chance, ringing the puck off the post. Grebenkin, Zegras, and Michkov were standouts during the second period; however, the top line couldn’t finish.
Schaefer served a minor penalty for holding, drawn by Grebenkin. Jamie Drysdale represented the only shot on goal on the first power play chance for Philadelphia, while Kolosov defended grand scoring opportunities by Kashawn Aitcheson and Alex Jefferies. The Flyers finished 0/4 (0%) on the power play.
During four-on-four hockey, with Schaefer and Zegras in the penalty box, the Islanders took the lead. Mathew Barzal cruised into the offensive zone on a two-on-one rush with Marshall Warren. Noah Juulsen was alone to split defensive coverage. Barzal nabbed the assist, delivering the puck to Warren for a wrist shot goal, 2-1, with 3:12 remaining in the second period.
Third Period
Shots: 29-29
Score: 2-2
Bjarnason and Gahagen occupied the crease for the entire third period. Each of the goaltenders looked sharp since entering the game.
Michkov began to loosen up in the second period, and in the third, he challenged Gahagen often. After a handful of minutes, Michkov nearly scored the game-tying goal. Gahagen played deep into the net, keeping the puck in front of the goal line with a glove save.
One redeeming moment for Juulsen was his clean, sturdy hit on Aitcheson. He lined up his hit and displayed a physical, but not dirty, brand of hockey across the middle of the ice. Unfortunately, Aitcheson didn’t return to the game. Tony DeAngelo immediately went to stand up for Aitcheson, but Juulsen brought him to the ice. Since the hit was clean, the reaction from DeAngelo warranted a minor penalty for roughing.
Denver Barkey had the puck on his backhand in close on Gahagen, generating a high-danger chance during four-on-four hockey with DeAngelo and Michkov in the penalty box. Bjarnason had to make an equally impressive save on Bo Horvat to keep Philadelphia within reach.
Then, Bjarnason was pulled in order for the Flyers to pursue a six-on-five advantage. Drysdale uncorked a shot from the blue line and Michkov sank the rebound, 2-2, with 1:18 remaining in the third period. The first six-on-five opportunity paid off in the preseason for Philadelphia.
Overtime
Shots: 34-30, Islanders
Score: 2-2
Zegras and Michkov had top-notch scoring chances to win the game. First, Zegras hit the crossbar before the puck soared into the netting. Schaefer expertly defended Michkov, giving a shove into Gahagen before he could muster a shot attempt.
Defensively, the Flyers were tight in overtime. While the Islanders took a handful of shots on goal, Philadelphia didn’t offer any high-percentage shots on Bjarnason.
Shootout
The shootout felt never-ending, lasting 11 rounds. Barzal, DeAngelo, and Luca Romano scored for the Islanders. That energy was matched by Michkov, Cates, Ābols, and then exceeded by Andrae, who sank the game-winner against Gahagen.
When the dust settled on a long night on Long Island, the Flyers were victorious in a shootout, 3-2.
Up Next
Next, the Philadelphia Flyers have the day off on Monday before visiting the Montréal Canadiens on Tuesday at 7pm/ET.
