Scott Laughton on Tuesday scored the winner in overtime and captain Claude Giroux rediscovered his scoring touch as the Philadelphia Flyers kept their NHL Playoff hopes alive with a 4-3 win over the New York Islanders.
Laughton scored on a tip from the front of the net that snuck past Islanders goaltender Semyon Varlamov, as the Flyers cut New York’s Eastern Conference series lead to 3-2.
Canadian forward Giroux snapped a 14-game goal drought, opening the scoring for the Flyers at 15 minutes, 45 seconds of the second period to tie it 1-1.
“In games like this, you need everyone pulling the rope and moving in the right direction,” Flyers forward James van Riemsdyk said. “Everyone did their job and played their role tonight.”
Philadelphia had a two-goal lead early in the third period, but allowed the Islanders to claw their way back to force overtime.
Game 6 is today in Toronto.
Giroux finished with a goal and an assist and goaltender Carter Hart stopped 29 shots for the Flyers, who are trying to become the first team in the post-season to come back from a 3-1 deficit. Six others tried in the first round, but failed.
If anyone has the blueprint to rally from 3-1, it is Flyers coach Alain Vigneault. He has done it before, including guiding the New York Rangers back from 3-1 to defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2014.
The Rangers did it again in 2015, when they stormed back from a 3-1 deficit to beat the Barry Trotz-coached Washington Capitals. Trotz coaches the Islanders.
“They don’t need me to motivate them,” Vigneault said of the Flyers. “They’re a group that motivates themselves. They’re got a lot pride and a lot of compete.”
Giroux and Van Riemsdyk scored their first post-season goals after New York went up 1-0 on Josh Bailey’s first-period strike. Matt Niskanen scored early in the third period to give Philadelphia a 3-1 lead.
The Islanders did not give up, tying it in the third quarter on goals by Brock Nelson and Derick Brassard, only 93 seconds apart, to set up the overtime.
Canucks 2, Golden Knights 1
In Edmonton, Alberta, goaltender Thatcher Demko won his first career playoff start, as the Vancouver Canucks held on to beat the Vegas Golden Knights 2-1 in Game 5 of their Western Conference series.
The 24-year old Demko made 42 saves, including several key ones in the final minutes, for the victory.
Vancouver stayed alive in the post-season, cutting the Golden Knights’ lead to 3-2 in the best-of-seven series.
Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser scored, while J.T. Miller had two assists for Vancouver.
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