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Flyers grind out double overtime win to force Game 7 vs. Islanders

Larry Henry Jr|

The Philadelphia Flyers earned their third overtime win in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs Thursday night, forcing a Game 7 on Saturday against Barry Trotz and the New York Islanders.

Ivan Provorov scored the game-winning goal for the Flyers in the second overtime period, while Carter Hart finished with 49 saves in a 5-4 win in Game 6. Oskar Lindblom also made his return to the ice, finishing with just over 17 minutes of ice time in his first appearance in nine months.

Lindblom made his dramatic return to the ice for the Flyers, playing the opening 1:37 in his first game since December 2019.

His return gave the Flyers a needed boost early and his teammates answered. Kevin Hayes roofed a wrist shot over the shoulder of Semyon Varlamov for his fourth goal of the postseason. Robert Hagg and Travis Konecny registered the assists on the opening goal.

A minute and 46 seconds later saw the Flyers double their advantage through the form of James van Riemsdyk. Van Riemsdyk came down on a breakaway and sent a slap shot under the left shoulder of Varlamov for his second goal in as many games.

Derick Brassard continued his good run of late with his second goal in as many games, making it 2-1 heading into the first intermission. New York’s pressure continued into the second period with Matt Martin scoring 1:24 into the period after a nice set up from Cal Clutterbuck.

Alain Vigneault challenged the goal for goaltender interference, but would lose his third of the series handing the Islanders a power play. Barry Trotz’s side didn’t need long to take the lead with Anders Lee scoring his seventh goal of the postseason to put New York ahead 3-2.

Michael Raffl jumped back into the Flyers lineup on Thursday and made an impact with under seven minutes to play in the second period. His snap shot beat Varlamov to tie things up at 3-3. However, the Islanders hit back for their third goal of the period as Matthew Barzal scored his second goal in as many games to put the Isles back in front.

After Hayes hit the crossbar not long before, the Flyers tied things back up through Scott Laughton’s shorthanded breakaway. Laughton fooled Varlamov with a fake before beating him with a forehanded finish.

The Flyers came close in the second overtime period to winning the game, but Varlamov did enough to deny Hayes and several other hacks from close range.

With the Flyers having better scoring chances in the extra period, Provorov iced the win after a bit of misfortune just before. Scott Mayfield broke his stick attempting a wrist shot in the Flyers zone allowing the Flyers to break up ice.

Eventually Hayes pass from behind the net found a streaking Provorov, whose wrist shot beat Varlamov for the game-winner. It was another gritty win for the Flyers, who now will seek a first trip to the Eastern Conference Finals since 2010.

Here’s how it sounded on local radio with Tim Saunders and Steve Coates:

Game 7 is scheduled for Saturday at 7:30 p.m. on NBC.

You can follow Larry Henry on Twitter (@lhenry019) and e-mail him at [email protected].

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