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Takeaways from Flyers’ 3-2 shootout win over Islanders in first preseason game

Matvei Michkov scored late to tie it up and Emil Andrae won it for Philadelphia in the 11th round of the shootout for an entertaining 3-2 Flyers win over the Islanders.

Posted on by Jason MacNeil
Jan 24, 2025; Elmont, New York, USA; Philadelphia Flyers right wing Matvei Michkov (39) fights with New York Islanders center Mathew Barzal (13) during the second period at UBS Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images

On a day the Flyers lost one of their greats, the team opened up their 2025-26 exhibition season with a rather entertaining tilt. One that saw Matvei Michkov tie things up late and Emil Andrae win it in a shootout in the 11th round to give Philadelphia a 3-2 shootout win.

The basics

First period: 2:42- Rodrigo Abols (Jack Nesbitt)
Second period: 4:01- Kyle Palmieri (Matthew Schaefer, Scott Mayfield), 16:48- Marshall Warren (Mathew Barzal, Kyle Palmieri)
Third period: 18:42- Matvei Michkov (Jamie Drysdale)
Overtime: No scoring
Shootout: Max Shabanov- No goal, Trevor Zegras- No goal, Jonathan Drouin- No goal, Matvei Michkov- Goal, Mathew Barzal- Goal, Denver Barkey- No goal, Matthew Schaefer- No goal, Nikita Grebenkin- No goal, Bo Horvat- No goal, Jack Nesbitt- No goal, Kyle Palmieri- No goal, Jamie Drysdale- No goal, Tony DeAngelo- Goal, Noah Cates- Goal, Gleb Veremyev- No goal, Alexis Gendron- No goal, Anders Lee- No goal, Samu Tuomaala- No goal, Luca Romano- Goal, Rodrigo Abols- Goal, Tomas Poletin- No goal, Emil Andrae- Goal
SOG: 30 (PHI) – 34 (NYI)

Some takeaways

Zegras debut

Trevor Zegras got his first taste of Flyers action, taking the opening faceoff and delivering a decent check in the Isles zone before heading off. He also looked very comfortable at center, making some great defensive plays including intercepting a pass mid-air just around the Flyers blueline before getting the puck up ice with a backhand pass.

Zegras also hit iron in the second period, taking a pass from Michkov who kept the puck in the Isles zone.

Another highlight was the Flyers first power play. No, they didn’t score, but there was a lot of passing (particularly between Drysdale and Zegras) that set up some fine chances. And speaking of Drysdale, he bailed out Noah Juulsen in the second when Juulsen fell, resulting in the Isles almost having a two-man breakaway. But a diving Drysdale got his stick on the pass before it was too late.

The center took a rather foolish penalty five seconds into the Flyers second power play of the contest, holding the stick and getting called for the minor. In overtime, Egor Zamula of all people fed Zegras with a great up-ice pass for a quasi-breakaway. Zegras however missed the chance to win it before taking a tumble afterwards.

Kolosov okay

With the goaltending picture a lot clearer, Aleksei Kolosov played most of the opener. He was fortunate early on as a prime Islanders chance missed the mark. He was also the benefactor of a lot of good little plays in the Flyers zone which left him only facing five shots in the first 20 minutes.

Kolosov made a nice pad save about five minutes into the second. Unfortunately the rebound went straight to Kyle Palmieri who buried it behind Kolosov to tie things up at 1-1.

Kolosov made perhaps his best save of the night minutes after the Islanders opening goal. He stoned Hunter Drew who tried to wait out Kolosov in deep. The keeper got a piece of the puck despite laying on his stomach. Unfortunately Kolosov didn’t have much of a chance on the Islanders second goal as defenseman Marshall Warren beat him clean late in the second for a 2-1 New York lead.

Nesbitt not out of place

Jack Nesbitt might be a long shot to get to the NHL this season. However, he started his first game with a bang. Nesbitt intercepted a neutral zone pass from top overall pick Matthew Schaefer, made a nice feed to Rodrigo Abols who beat New York goalie David Rittich to take a 1-0 lead.

Michkov miffs Michigan

Matvei Michkov found himself on a line with Noah Cates and Lane Pederson early on in the contest. The winger also had some chemistry with Zegras in the first period, nearly capitalizing on a fine pass from the center that the Islanders nixed at the last minute. The Mad Russian led all Flyer forwards with 5:57 in ice time.

In the second he attempted a Michigan after receiving a pass from Trevor Zegras. The try didn’t get too far as Michkov was denied. But the had lots of sustained pressure, leaving New York tuckered out with the long shift in period two.

Pederson rocked

Forward Lane Pederson looked fine early but got clocked in the neutral zone with a hard, heavy but clean check that sent him to the ice. Pederson got up under his own steam but immediately headed down the hallway to the locker room with about six minutes to go in period one. He didn’t return and ended the night with 3:12 of ice time.

Juulsen with a jarring hit

Noah Juulsen took a healthy center ice run the Islanders Kashawn Aitcheson. Aitcheson looked to be hurt and was holding his leg after the hit. The scrum left the Flyers with a power play after Tony DeAngelo attempted to get even with Juulsen. But instead he was in the sin bin for two minutes. The power play was abbreviated when Michkov took a minor to make it four-on-four for 65 seconds.

Grebenkin in good company

When not getting into tussles with Scott Mayfield, winger Nikita Grebenkin looked quite at home on a line with Michkov and Zegras. He wasn’t knocking people over left and right. However he was quite capable of taking some punishment but standing his ground, being very difficult to bounce off the puck. It looked like he hurt himself in the third when he took a hit midway through the third. He got up and skated to the bench and was able to

Adios blocked shots?

While it was extremely early in the season, the Flyers defensive setup didn’t resemble the when in doubt, jump in front of the puck mentality like last season. That is to say, head coach Rick Tocchet is probably going to want some blocked shots. That won’t be the main way the Flyers defend their end. The defense played fast and smart, making a lot of crisp passes that got their transition game going instantly.

It wasn’t a masterclass, but it looked a lot better than at times last season where one wrong pass meant a ton of defensive zone time and blocked shots. The Flyers outshot the Islanders 9-5 in the first. It didn’t look like they were blocking a lot of shots, yet after 40 minutes they had a dozen blocks, including three each by Drysdale and Egor Zamula.

Andrae a giant?

Unfortunately, defenseman Emil Andrae (who is going to need a superb camp to keep himself in the running) was called for an interference penalty. Philadelphia kept New York to the perimeter for most of the two minutes to maintain the one-goal lead. Andrae also made some great plays in the first, making a backhanded pass out of trouble at one point while boxing out the Islanders forward just in front of Kolosov to keep things tidy.

As the game wore on, Andrae had some struggles. But generally he looked like he deserved a longer look than some people might feel he’ll get given his size among a blueline that is rather big and heavy.

Last gasp

With Carson Bjarnason (who played the third and overtime) pulled for the extra attacker, the Flyers tied things up. A point shot from Jamie Drysdale got through. The rebound went directly to Michkov who made no mistake, tying things up with 78 seconds left in regulation. And beating former Lehigh Valley keeper Parker Gahagen in the process.

Michkov also received a home run pass from Zegras in overtime and had a good chance late, but wasn’t able to get the game-winner. It looked like he was dragged down but the officials thought otherwise.

Shootout that never ends

After 21 combined attempts, both the Flyers and Islanders were still tied. And still trying to win the game. Fortunately Andrae finally won it for Philadelphia in the eleventh round. Had it gone any longer there was a good chance the likes of Sawyer Boulton or Spencer Gill might not have been given a chance due to roster cuts.

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