Islanders 4, Flyers 3 (SO)
PHILADELPHIA -- The New York Islanders extended their point streak to eight games by taking down the Philadelphia Flyers 4-3 in a shootout at the Wells Fargo Center on Tuesday night.
Right winger Kyle Okposo was the lone scorer in the skills competition to win it for the Islanders.
Center Frans Nielsen scored a pair of goals and New York never trailed as the Islanders (16-8-5) held on for their sixth win in the last eight games, a stretch in which New York has not lost in regulation (6-0-2).
The Flyers (11-11-6) are now losers of two straight at home following a four-game winning streak.
Flyers goalie Steve Mason was benched after allowing his third goal of the game early in the second. Philadelphia fed off backup Michal Neuvirth, scoring two unanswered to flip a 3-1 deficit into a 3-3 tie.
Islanders goalie Jaroslav Halak denied all three shots in the shootout. In regulation and overtime, he faced 46 shots and stopped 43 of them. He entered with just five regulation goals allowed in his previous four games.
After outshooting the Islanders 17-5 in the second period, the Flyers carried it over into the third. At 17:58 of the final frame, center Claude Giroux erased the one-goal deficit with his 10th of the season as he deflected a slap shot off a pair of bodies and past Halak.
It took the Islanders only 55 seconds to draw first blood. Defenseman Johnny Boychuk ignited the scoring chance by threading the needle with a cross-ice pass to streaking left winger Anders Lee, who fed Nielsen for a snap shot and 1-0 New York lead.
As the Islanders went on a power play looking to cushion their advantage, a heady play by Flyers right winger Pierre-Edouard Bellemare drew Philadelphia even. Bellemare intercepted the puck near center ice and went the other way, executing a perfect 2-on-0 rush with Giroux, who stayed patient by keeping possession and making Halak commit before finding Bellemare for the easy goal.
New York capitalized on the same power play when center Brock Nelson's slap shot got past Mason to regain the Islanders' lead.
Just like the first period, New York raced out of the chute in the second, this time scoring 1:14 into the stanza. Nielsen potted his second goal of the game when he harmlessly snapped a shot on goal during a 1-on-2, but ended up deflecting it off Mason's glove and in.
The goal resulted in Mason being yanked for Neuvirth.
Philadelphia put Halak under siege, eventually scoring on center Ryan White's tally from in between the circles off a short pass from center R.J. Umberger at 4:09 into the second.
The Flyers appeared to knot the score when right winger Wayne Simmonds batted home a rebound on the power play, but after official review, the goal was overturned because of a distinct kicking motion on Simmonds, upholding the Islanders' 3-2 lead entering the third period.
NOTES: D Andrew MacDonald, called up Monday from the Flyers' AHL affiliate in Lehigh Valley, made his season debut in place of D Luke Schenn, who is out two weeks with a lower-body injury. ... Islanders RW Steve Bernier and D Brian Strait were healthy scratches. Bernier has not played since Nov. 25, while Strait has been out the last six games. ... Flyers D Radko Gudas served the final game of his three-game suspension, while C Sam Gagner (upper body) and D Mark Streit (groin) remained out of the lineup. ... Islanders G Jaroslav Halak got the start in net. He entered 2-0-2 with a 1.75 goals-against average in his last four games. ... Flyers C Vincent Lecavalier was a healthy scratch for the 12th consecutive game. He has not played since Nov. 12.