Flyers fall to Islanders in OT; Mike Vecchione makes a good impression

UNIONDALE, N.Y.  —  The Flyers, playing with a lineup much younger than the New York Islanders', dropped a 3-2 overtime decision Sunday afternoon as star center John Tavares scored a pair of goals, including the winner just 34 seconds into the extra session.

It was the first exhibition game for both teams, and it was homecoming for the Islanders at energized Nassau Coliseum.  A sellout crowd of nearly 14,000 watched, and many of the fans are still upset that the team left for Brooklyn for the 2015-16 season.

This was the Islanders' first game at Nassau since they left for the Barclays Center, where they will play home games before relocating to a still-to-be found new location.

The loud, chanting crowd created an atmosphere more akin to the Stanley Cup playoffs, not an exhibition game.

"It was outstanding," Flyers coach Dave Hakstol said. "I know we had some tired legs, but you get that type of atmosphere, it [pushes you]. You wish every preseason game was like that."

The Flyers received strong performances from many rookies, including Mike Vecchione (goal), Oskar Lindblom (six shots), Nolan Patrick, defenseman Robert Hagg, and goalie Alex Lyon.

Veteran Jori Lehtera (goal, assist), acquired from St. Louis as part of the Brayden Schenn trade, scored a shorthanded goal, and the veteran unit of Matt Read, Scott Laughton, and Michael Raffl was probably the team's best line.

"It's tough to lose in overtime, but performance-wise and effort-wise, we were pretty good,"  said Hakstol, who sat Claude Giroux, Wayne Simmonds, and Jake Voracek but saw the Flyers outshoot the Islanders, 34-29.

The Flyers used their defense of the future, composed of the following pairings: Ivan Provorov and Phil Myers, Shayne Gostisbehere and Sam Morin, and Hagg and Travis Sanheim.

Morin and Hagg were the steadiest rookies of that group.

Myers committed a turnover that led to Tavares' game-winning goal, and Mathew Barzal went around Sanheim and scored with 14:37 left in regulation, knotting the score at 2-2.

Vecchione, a natural center who was used at right wing Sunday, signed as a free agent late last season after a brilliant career at Union College. He was a finalist last season for the Hobey Baker Award, given to the best player in college hockey.

The Union Connection  —  Vecchione and Gostisbehere  —  gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead 40 seconds into the second period. Mikhail Vorobyov won a faceoff, and Gostisbehere's drive was tipped in by Vecchione.

"It was just a five-man play," Vecchione said. "A big faceoff win, and it goes D to D, and Lehtera takes the goalie's eyes away, and Shayne gets it on the net, and I got my stick on it."

Vecchione said he was playing right wing for the first time in six years.

"We want to look at the versatility of players," Hakstol said. "There's a ton of competition at every position."

Hakstol acknowledged it can be difficult to change positions.

"But sometimes in order to give yourself a chance to make a hockey team, you have to have some flexibility and have to adjust," Hakstol said.

Vecchione and Gostisbehere were on the Union team that won the NCAA title in 2014 at the Wells Fargo Center. Vecchione, a Massachusetts native who was a freshman on that team, later became the leading scorer in Union's history.

Lindblom played left wing on a line centered by Patrick — Travis Konecny was at right wing — and they had good chemistry for never having been on the same unit before Sunday. The line combined for 13 shots.

Hakstol said Patrick made a "lot of real good solid plays, smart plays, with and without the puck. … He's a smart player. He's one step ahead of the game."

The third-year coach also praised Lindblom's "puck possession and how he supports the play five on five" and on the power play.

Patrick, who turns 19 on Tuesday, said that he wasn't surprised by the game's high pace and that he felt "a little bit of nerves in my first one," but that he "just tried to win every battle and focus on that."