Flyers fall to Islanders in overtime, 4-3, and drop sixth straight

NEW YORK – Michael Raffl and Taylor Leier ended long goal-less streaks, speedy left winger Danick Martell made a strong NHL debut, and Brian Elliott was stellar in the nets.

But for the skidding Flyers, it didn't matter Wednesday night at the Barclays Center.

Josh Bailey scored on his own rebound 32 seconds into overtime, lifting the Islanders to a 4-3 win and handing the Flyers their sixth straight defeat.

[Box score, play-by-play]

Bailey got position on Shayne Gostisbehere to get off his first point blank shot. The defenseman was then unable to clear Bailey, who scored on his sixth shot of the night — and the Islanders' 39th.

"It's frustrating; we're right there," said Elliott, whose team has suffered three of its last six losses in overtime or a shootout. "…We just kind of need to turn that corner."

The Flyers, playing on back-to-back nights against a fresh team, blocked 20 shots, including four by Martel.

"The guys are paying the price, and eventually it's going to turn for us when you do things like that," Elliott said.

Elliott said it was a "positive that we got a point out of a building like this and didn't give two away, but it's just a frustrating time right now."

The penalty kill is making things miserable for the Flyers (8-9-5), who have allowed seven power-play goals in 13 chances over the last three games.

"The PK," right winger Wayne Simmonds said, "has got to be better."

The Flyers got a power play with 5:30 left in regulation, but Thomas Greiss made four saves, including a point-blank shot by Jake Voracek.

Earlier, with the Flyers on their first power play of the night, Voracek took a slick feed from Simmonds and scored on a left-circle one-timer, knotting the game at 3-3 with 6:06 left in the second period.

Forty-six seconds later, Elliott made a great save — he was arguably the Flyers' best player Wednesday — to stop Bailey on a two-on-one.

The second period included goals by Johnny Boychuk (power play) and Josh Ho-Sang (tip-in) to give the Islanders a brief 3-2 lead. Boychuk's goal was scored on a five-on-three power play.

"We have to do a better job for the boys, make better decisions with our positioning and bear down," Leier said of the penalty kill, which was successful twice in the third period thanks to Elliott's excellent goaltending.

Raffl, playing on a line with Val Filppula and Travis Konecny, had put the Flyers ahead, 2-1, by scoring on a breakaway 46 seconds into the second. It ended a 42-game goal-less and point-less streak. Raffl had not produced a point since scoring a goal against Tampa Bay on Jan. 7 last season.

Midway through the opening period, Leier scored his first goal in 25 games to put the Flyers ahead, 1-0. But Mathew Barzal netted the equalizer, a power-play goal from the left circle with 1:07 left in the session.

Martel, who played on the second line with Nolan Patrick and Simmonds, showcased his speed and had a pair of takeaways in the first period, during which he was stopped on a breakaway by Greiss with 9:28 left.

"There was a lot of emotion, for sure," said Martel, who had his parents and girlfriend at the game. "Hockey is a simple game and I wanted to keep it simple, play hard and that's what I did and had a couple of good scoring chances."

The 5-foot-8, 162-pound Martel led the AHL with 14 goals in 17 games before being promoted earlier in the day. On his breakaway, he stripped an Islander player and raced in alone on Greiss.

"The only thing I thought about was getting a shot," Martel said. "I mean, it was my first breakaway in my first game. I didn't know what to do, so I just tried to get a shot."

Martel finished with six shots, including three that were on goal.

"My adrenaline was so high," he said. "I think I'm going to go lie down tonight and get a good sleep, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to be excited tomorrow just because I played my first game tonight."

Defenseman Samuel Morin, who was also recalled from Lehigh Valley on Wednesday, was paired with Gostisbehere and contributed several crunching hits, but also committed two minor penalties. He inadvertently shot the puck over the glass in the second period, giving the Isles the five-on-three power play that led to a goal.

It was just the Flyers' second game against a Metropolitan Division opponent in 22 contests this season. … The teams will have a rematch Friday at 4 p.m. at the Wells Fargo Center. … Jordan Weal, who has one goal in the last 18 games, was dropped to the fourth line and played just eight minutes. … Dale Weise and Jori Lehtera were healthy scratches. … The Flyers have scored the first goal in their last four games — and lost all of them. … Voracek and Sean Couturier each had six of the Flyers' 38 shots. … The Isles are 7-0-2 at home.