Instant Replay: Islanders 1, Flyers 0 (SO)

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BOX SCORE

UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- Talk about a goaltending clinic.

Steve Mason’s athleticism was on full display at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, but the Flyers couldn’t muster any offense in a 1-0 shootout loss to the New York Islanders.

Slap shots. Wrist shots. Wraparound attempts. Deflections. You name it. Mason saved it Monday night.

In fact, Mason’s only undoing came in the dreaded shootout. Frans Nielsen and John Tavares each scored in the skills competition, while Jaroslav Halak turned aside Scott Laughton and Claude Giroux.

Though the 0-0 score would not indicate it, the Flyers were badly outplayed in the opening stanza. The Islanders doubled up the Orange and Black in shots (12-6) and pounded them physically with 12 hits.

The second frame saw a lot of open skating and the game evened out a bit. Both teams traded chances, but again failed to find the back of the net.

That all paved the way for a frantic finish. The Islanders again used their speed and tenacity to take control of the game, finishing the third with a 43-20 shots advantage.

On the bright side, Mason’s strong play in net helped the Flyers force overtime and sneak out of Long Island with one point.

Notable goals
Nielsen beat Mason with a quick wrister in the second round of the shootout. Tavares followed with a nifty deke and put one over Mason’s shoulder to seal the victory for New York.

Goalie report
Mason is the only reason why the game was close. He made a spectacular glove save on Nielsen in the first period and a key sprawling stop, with a little help from the post, early in the second frame on Johnny Boychuk. Mason’s most important stop came on a Tavares wraparound attempt with nearly 10 minutes remaining in the third period. He finished the game with 46 saves.

Halak wasn’t quite as busy as Mason, but was sharp nonetheless. His best save of the game came on a shorthanded breakaway by Sean Couturier. The Flyers’ center dropped his shoulder and deked to the left, but Halak stayed with him and also turned aside a rebound attempt.

Power play
The Flyers didn’t put much pressure on the Islanders while up a man. They mustered just one shot on two PP attempts and had a few passes intercepted and then cleared.

Penalty kill
Couturier was a one-man wrecking crew on the PK. He had an active stick, which led to two separate scoring chances while shorthanded.

Scott Laughton also parked himself in the passing lanes and led a shorthanded 2-on-1 break with R.J. Umberger before having his wrist shot attempt blocked.

Five for fighting
Fans attending Flyers-Islanders saw a boxing fight break out in the second period. Wayne Simmonds and Matt Martin got into a lengthy scrap, throwing haymaker after haymaker. Since neither man scored the KO and there was no official punch count, we’ll call it a draw.

Scratches
Forward Chris VandeVelde missed a second consecutive game because of a lower-body injury. Defenseman Carlo Colaiacovo and forward Jason Akeson were healthy scratches.

Defensemen Thomas Hickey and Calvin de Hann and forward Cory Conacher all sat out for the Islanders.

Up next
The Flyers head to Joe Louis Arena for a matchup with the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday night.

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