The Flyers ended a rough road trip on a high note Wednesday night on Long Island as Scott Hartnell scored late to lead the Flyers to a 2-1 win.
Hartnell knew he wouldn't be open for long as he waited for Jeff Carter to hit him with a centering pass, he said.
Hartnell remained free long enough to take Carter's backhand feed and fire a hard shot from the high slot for the winner with 5:27 left in the Flyers' 2-1 victory over the Islanders on Wednesday night.
“He slid his backhand and when it was coming, it was like slow motion,” Hartnell said. “I just wanted to get a quick shot off and I think it hit off someone's stick and went in. We'll take it. It's a big two points for us.”
Backup Brian Boucher made 28 saves, and Mike Richards added his 10th goal for the Fly Guys. Trent Hunter had a first-period goal for the Isles, and former Flyers goalie Martin Biron stopped 26 shots.
Carter set up Hartnell's eighth goal. Carter skated near the bench-side boards before sliding a backhand pass to an open Hartnell between the top of the circles. Hartnell's blast nestled above Biron's shoulder for the winner as Philadelphia (13-8-1) snapped a three-game losing streak to finish 2-3 on their five-game trip.
“Two-for-5 is not the greatest, but it's nice to get the win against a division opponent and go back home on a high note,” Richards said.
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New York (9-9-7) had just one third-period shot in returning home after a seven-game trip in which it picked up eight out of a possible 14 points. Rookie John Tavares had an assist for the Islanders in their first home game since Nov. 7.
“The problem was we didn't play enough in the offensive zone to maintain what we did in the first and second period,” Islanders coach Scott Gordon said. “In the third period we looked to make plays that weren't there and they got sticks on it and counter-attacked. You can't forecheck unless you get the puck in the offensive zone.”
Philadelphia tightened up defensively in the third, holding the Islanders without a shot for the first 11:33.
“It was a matter of us taking over the game in the third,” defenseman Chris Pronger said. “We did a good job of finally get pucks in deep and creating a cycle and getting pucks on net.”
But, the Flyers were great all night.
“We were sloppy at the start of the game but fortunately we kept it to one goal,” Boucher said.
Without leading goal-scorer Danny Briere, Philadelphia struggled to generate offense until Richards' power-play goal made it one-all with 33.8 seconds remaining in the second period.
Briere served the first of his two-game suspension for his late hit on Colorado Avalanche defenseman Scott Hannan. But Richards compensated, notching his 10th goal by one-timing Claude Giroux's slot pass from the low-right circle.
Hartnell said the team made a collective effort to generate more third-period chances against the Islanders aggressive forecheck. Philadelphia blocked 23 shots, including 14 in the second period.
“Guys were sacrificing their bodies and putting them in front of pucks and when they were coming on net, Boucher was saving them,” Hartnell said. “It was a big game all-around by everybody.”
