Islanders suffer major setback with brutal loss to Flyers to put playoffs hopes in limbo

A first period that couldn’t be overcome, a goaltending situation that suddenly feels awfully precarious and a potential collapse that suddenly seems all too possible.

The Islanders could have all but eliminated the Flyers from the playoff chase with a win Friday.

Instead, they dealt themselves a major setback, losing to Philadelphia 4-1 and losing control of their own destiny in doing so.

For now, the Islanders are still in a playoff spot with 89 points. But the Blue Jackets and Flyers, both with 88, have each played one fewer game.

So too have the Senators, who have 88 points in the second wild-card spot.

So beyond needing a win in what will be a tough second end of this back-to-back in Raleigh, N.C., on Saturday, the Islanders will be glued to their televisions during the ensuing four days off, over which everyone else will catch up on games played.

New York Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin (30) makes a save against the Philadelphia Flyers during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Friday, April 3, 2026 in Elmont, N.Y. Noah K. Murray for NY Post

The break will also provide some rest that, at this point, seems especially important for Ilya Sorokin. The goaltender who has carried the Islanders through the last month, and for whom Friday was the 10th straight game with an appearance, has not looked quite himself in any of the last three matches. Friday, he let in two goals he would have wanted back, helping the Flyers stretch a 1-0 lead to 3-0.

Sorokin, though, was far from the only culprit in a lifeless first period that saw the Islanders get outshot 12-2, fail to record a shot through 13:15 and burn their timeout 15:01 into the match, only to commit a penalty off the very next faceoff.

They were down 2-0 at the end of it, 3-0 after Matvei Michkov took advantage of a heinous Brayden Schenn turnover and banked one off Sorokin 2:52 into the second, and then they started to play.

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And, at least in moments, it looked like that might be enough.

The door seemed open for the Islanders heading into the third as they trailed 3-1 and the Flyers — on the second end of a back-to-back themselves — seemed to be tiring. Mat Barzal looked like a man on a mission, and notched a gorgeous assist to JG Pageau. The Isles had consistent pressure, and 20 minutes to at least get the game to overtime.

And then the momentum fizzled right out.

Patrick Roy changed the lines to start the third, putting Barzal with Pageau and Simon Holmstrom while Ondrej Palat moved to the second line with Cal Ritchie and Schenn, but to no avail. The energy the Islanders had played with for chunks of the second was gone.

Matthew Schaefer (48) controls the puck against Philadelphia Flyers center Christian Dvorak (22) during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Friday, April 3, 2026 in Elmont, N.Y. Noah K. Murray for NY Post

Travis Sanheim, who had been at the center of the game’s growing chippiness after an incident with Matthew Schaefer away from the puck, rifled one past Sorokin 9:16 into the third, beating him clean and on the short side.

That sealed it, and if the Islanders may have considered putting Sorokin in net Saturday if he’d played better, it’s hard to see that happening after he let in four goals on 21 shots.

Three losses in a row equals the Islanders’ worst losing streak of the season, and they are an abysmal 3-6-0 in their last nine, a span over which a better record might have meant an “X” next to their name in the standings by now.

Instead, they are in danger of never having one.