Flyers’ win streak halted before Black Friday showdown with Rangers

Flyers’ win streak halted before Black Friday showdown with Rangers originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Flyers’ best winning streak since the 2019-20 season came to an end on Thanksgiving Eve.

And, of course, the Islanders did the honors of snapping it.

John Tortorella’s club lost, 3-2, Wednesday night at UBS Arena in Elmont, New York.

For the first time in six games, the Flyers trailed and had to chase. They fell behind just 1:49 minutes into the action and could never draw even.

As a result, the Flyers (10-8-1) had their five-game winning streak put to rest by a club that has given them serious problems, stemming back to 2019-20.

Cam York and Joel Farabee scored goals for the Flyers.

Bobby Brink showed great vision in finding Farabee with 4:04 minutes left, trimming the deficit to one. But the Flyers ended up dropping to 1-4-1 in games decided by one goal.

The Islanders (7-6-5) have been a thorn in the Flyers’ side over the last five seasons. They’ve gone 15-3-2 against the Flyers in the regular season and knocked them out of the 2020 playoffs.

Brock Nelson scored two of New York’s three goals Wednesday night, including the game-winner.

• Carter Hart converted 22 saves on 25 shots and has surrendered three or fewer goals in nine of his 10 decisions.

The 25-year-old made some timely stops to give the Flyers a chance at coming back. But with Ilya Sorokin in the opposite net, three goals allowed were too many.

Nelson, untouched in front of the net, extended the Islanders’ advantage to 2-0 in the middle stanza with a redirection.

He cushioned his team’s lead back to two early in the third period. The Flyers lost him in coverage.

Sorokin, last season’s Vezina Trophy runner-up, was excellent. The 28-year-old stopped 34 of the Flyers’ 36 shots.

York cut the Flyers’ deficit to 2-1 in the second period when he backhanded his own rebound past Sorokin. New York’s netminder made a superb save on the initial shot.

Sean Couturier was denied eight times by Sorokin.

• After not playing for 14 games, Marc Staal returned to the lineup. The 36-year-old defenseman suffered two broken ribs in Game 4 of the season and had difficulty sleeping over the initial four or five days of the injury.

“It wasn’t great,” Staal said Tuesday with a smile. “Just straight on your back, trying not to breathe. … After Day 5, it turned and I was able to be a human again a little bit.”

He was cleared to play last Friday but was a healthy scratch for the team’s back-to-back set in Philadelphia. On Wednesday, he drew into the lineup for Louie Belpedio and was paired with Egor Zamula.

The veteran and youngster had a tough first shift as Anders Lee jammed one past Hart to hand the Islanders an early 1-0 lead.

In the second period, Staal broke up a dangerous odd-man rush to help keep the Flyers’ deficit at one.

Zamula, at times, has looked indecisive with the puck, which has led to trouble. When he’s playing well, he’s making confident and sharp outlet passes. He was on the ice for two of New York’s goals and finished as a minus-1 in 15:11 minutes.

“Z’s in a spot with me now, where do we go here?” Tortorella said five days ago. “Because there has been some struggles there. That’s where we have conversations as far as what’s the best thing for him. Certainly haven’t given up on him, but we don’t want to put him in a spot all the time where he keeps chipping down because of those mistakes. That’s why we may have to back off sometimes and not play him.”

Rasmus Ristolainen, who has yet to play this season because of a lower-body injury, practiced Tuesday in what looked like full capacity. The 29-year-old defenseman could be getting closer to his season debut, but no definitive timeline for his return has been disclosed.

• The Flyers will have a chance to respond on Black Friday when they host the Rangers in front of what should be a lively crowd (1 p.m. ET/NBCSP).

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