ELMONT, N.Y. — The Islanders knew what to expect from the Flyers and knew what they had to avoid in their tense playoff chase. Facing teams a mere week away from their offseason vacation but with players trying to win jobs for next season is never easy.
But the Islanders, with a second straight focused, determined effort, didn’t fall victim to that pitfall, dominating the also-ran Flyers, 4-0, on Saturday night at UBS Arena to retain the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot.
Ilya Sorokin stopped 27 shots for his sixth shutout and Bo Horvat and Simon Holmstrom both had two assists.
The Islanders (41-30-9), who also beat the visiting Lightning, 6-1, on Thursday night, kept pace with the Panthers and Penguins in the wild-card chase. The Penguins earned a 5-1 road win over the Red Wings on Saturday while the visiting Panthers edged the Capitals, 4-2, for their sixth straight victory.
The Panthers and Islanders are even with 91 points in 80 games but the Panthers have one extra regulation win. The Penguins are one point back.
Carter Hart made 17 saves for the Flyers (29-37-13), who have lost six straight.
The Islanders finish the season with a road game against the Capitals on Monday night and host the Canadiens on Wednesday night. The Canadiens have also long been out of the playoff picture and the Capitals will miss the postseason for the first time since 2014.
“It presents a different challenge than teams that you’re essentially fighting for position with because, essentially, there’s nothing for them to lose in the immediate,” Cal Clutterbuck said of playing non-playoff contenders this late in the season. “A lot of times they come playing tension-free hockey and they can make plays. They’re not really worried about the consequence. So that can be difficult.”
The Islanders lost twice to the Capitals in March, though Alex Ovechkin and Co. were still in the playoff chase at that point.
“It’s definitely not easy,” defenseman Noah Dobson said. “In the position we are, things are a little more magnified. Pressure is a little more, if you want to say it. On the other end, you’re kind of playing free, you’re not too worried about making mistakes. We’ve just got to focus on playing our game. I think if we get to our game and dictate the terms out there, we’ll be fine.”
The Flyers pressured early in the first period and the Islanders struggled defensively in their zone, forcing Sorokin to make 15 saves in the opening 20 minutes.
Scott Mayfield gave the Islanders a 1-0 lead at 14:19 on a shot into traffic from the right point.
Holmstrom’s first assist on Mayfield's goal was his first assist in 47 games, dating to Nov. 25.
Holmstrom’s second assist was even better. Gathering the puck in the defensive zone, Holmstrom banked a backhander into the neutral zone to spring Bo Horvat, who used a stop-and-start move to create space for Samuel Bolduc on the left. Bolduc’s hard wrister made it 3-0 at 15:06 of the second period.
Brock Nelson had extended the Islanders’ lead to 2-0 at 7:50 as he was sprung up ice to the right circle by Dobson’s pinpoint stretch pass from the defensive zone.
Hudson Fasching capped the scoring off the rush at 18:21 of the third period.
Zach Parise’s apparent power-play goal at 12:05 of the second period was overturned via a video review for a high stick.
