Flyers 4, Islanders 0
PHILADELPHIA -- The Philadelphia Flyers outplayed the New York Islanders from the opening faceoff to the final buzzer in a 4-0 win on Saturday afternoon at Wells Fargo Center.
The Flyers were the aggressors from the get-go, outshooting the Islanders 11-2 after one period before breaking through for two second-period goals and earning their third straight win.
Left winger Matt Read had a three-point game (one goal, two assists), while left winger Michael Raffl and defensemen Evgeny Medvedev and Sean Couturier. Radko Gudas also netted goals as Philadelphia (18-15-7) beat its Metropolitan Division rival for the first time in three tries this season.
New York (22-15-5) was undisciplined, committing five penalties before the third period, and a step slower en route to picking up its third loss in the last four games. Over that four-game stretch, the Islanders have surrendered 18 goals.
Flyers goalie Steve Mason (9-10-5) needed to make just 20 saves to post his third shutout.
It was the opposite for Islanders goalie Jaroslav Halak (10-8-3), who was under heavy attack and stopped 27 shots.
Read highlighted his first multi-point game of the season when he scored through the legs of Halak midway through the third period to give Philadelphia a commanding 3-0 advantage. Streit took a turnover and fed Read who did the rest.
Then nearly five minutes later, Couturier put the final nail in the coffin.
After dominating a scoreless first period, the Flyers cashed in 1:27 into the second period off a highlight-reel pass from center Sean Couturier punctuated by Raffl's goal.
Couturier was smothered by two defensemen along the back boards but found a way to turn and dish to Raffl streaking to the net for his sixth marker and a 1-0 lead.
Just over seven minutes later, Philadelphia built its lead to 2-0 during a four-on-four in which Medvedev saw a clear path to the net and scored five-hole after cycling and taking a perfect setup pass from Read.
After two periods, the Flyers had outshot the Islanders 21-10, while New York compiled 10 penalty minutes.
NOTES: Islanders D Travis Hamonic missed his first game of the season with a lower-body injury. Hamonic, who has two goals and six assists, is considered day-to-day. D Scott Mayfield made his season debut in Hamonic's place. ... Flyers D Shayne Gostisbehere was out with a lower-body injury, the first game he has been sidelined since suffering the injury on Thursday against the Minnesota Wild. Gostisbehere, who has seven goals and nine assists, is considered day-to-day. He was replaced by D Brandon Manning. ... LW Eric Boulton (upper body) and D Johnny Boychuk remained out for the Islanders. ... Flyers C Jordan Weal, acquired in a trade with the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday, was a healthy scratch for the second straight game. ... RW Steve Bernier and D Marek Zidlicky were healthy scratches for the Islanders.