The Flyers had an excellent response to a scary hit on Ryan Poehling as they took over to beat the Islanders, 5-3, Thursday night at UBS Arena in Elmont, New York. Poehling was forced out of the game in the first period after taking a check to the area of his shoulder and head.

- The Flyers stand in fifth place in the Metropolitan Division with 44 points, three points ahead of the Islanders (41 points), though New York has two games in-hand. - The Flyers picked up five of a possible six points in their last three games (2-0-1) after a six-game winless skid (0-5-1).

Creating and sustaining an impact has been a lingering issue during the first 3 1⁄2 months of the season. It’s part of the reason the Islanders (17-19-7, 41 points) entered the first of three games in 14 days against the Flyers in 15th place in the Eastern Conference, two points ahead of last-place Buffalo.

The New York Islanders lost again, at home again, despite achieving the miracle of two power play goals. The loss is nothing, really, the way this team has been headed for most of this season, but the manner was a little disturbing.

It is becoming abundantly obvious that the New York Islanders are on the brink of losing the 2024-25 season in January, and Thursday night’s unsuccessful third-period comeback in a 5-3 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers only cemented that.