Flyers hold off Islanders, run point streak to 4

ELMONT, N.Y. -- Sean Couturier had a goal and an assist, Travis Konecny had three assists, and the Philadelphia Flyers held off the New York Islanders 5-3 at UBS Arena on Thursday.

Joel Farabee had two assists, and Samuel Ersson made 26 saves for the Flyers (20-20-6), who extended their point streak to four games (3-0-1). Farabee was a healthy scratch for each of the previous three games.

"We’re just finding ways to win the game,” Couturier said. “We were playing some good hockey prior to that, facing some good teams. We couldn’t find a way to win. That’s how it goes sometimes. Just, lately, we are finding ways to get it done.”

Bo Horvat had a goal and an assist for the Islanders (17-20-7), who have lost two straight to begin a seven-game homestand. Ilya Sorokin made 19 saves after not playing the previous two games because of an illness.

“I think we just didn't manage the puck well, you know?” New York coach Patrick Roy said. “I mean, you look at all the chances they had, most of them came from turnovers. It's either from the breakout, or it's the blue line, and we gave them some odd-man rushes. You can’t win in this league if you don't do a better job and you turn over the puck too many times.”

Flyers forward Ryan Poehling left the game at 8:23 of the first period with an upper-body injury after taking a hit from Islanders forward Maxim Tsyplakov. There was no update on Poehling after the game.

“I thought the whole situation gives you a chance to galvanize with one another,” Philadelphia coach John Tortorella said. “They were concerned about Poehling. Everybody was. That's the way the group is. We have struggles. We did some dumb things tonight at certain times, but it's a good group. And when those types of situations arise, that's when they pull together.”

Horvat gave the Islanders a 1-0 lead on the power play at 9:21 of the first. Brock Nelson found Horvat below the right face-off circle, where he beat Ersson to the glove-side post with a one-timer.

It was New York’s first power-play goal in 15 games, ending an 0-for-25 streak.

Couturier tied it 1-1 at 5:15 of the second period. After a turnover by Islanders forward Anthony Duclair in the neutral zone, Couturier tapped in a pass from Farabee in the low slot.

Garnet Hathaway gave the Flyers a 2-1 lead with a short-handed goal at 9:29, scoring from the left circle off a Konecny feed. He has three goals in his past four games after scoring three in his first 42.

“It’s funny. In this league, you go on weird patches of games where the puck goes in, or you get a lot of chances, and they don’t go in, or you get some, and they all go in,” Hathaway said. “It’s one of those things where I tried to fall back on the basic principles of my game, which is being strong on the puck and trying to keep them going north in the right direction and making things happen around the net.”

Morgan Frost extended the lead to 3-1 at 13:41, finishing a give-and-go with Owen Tippett.

The Flyers outshot the Islanders 11-6 in the second.

“I think our turnovers killed us,” Horvat said. “We were turning pucks over at the wrong time, and especially, feeding their transition. They're a quick team that likes to feed off the rush, and we just let them have it. And it just wasn't good enough by us tonight.”

Mathew Barzal cut it to 3-2 at 30 seconds of the third period. He scored under the blocker from the right circle off the rush.

Cam York gave Philadelphia a 4-2 lead at 5:16 when he scored to the blocker side from the left circle.

Anders Lee brought New York within 4-3 at 17:16 with a power-play goal when Horvat’s shot from the point banked off him and in. The Islanders were on a 6-on-4 with Sorokin pulled for the extra attacker.

Noah Cates scored an empty-net goal at 18:48 for the 5-3 final.

NOTES: Frost extended his point streak to five games (six points; four goals, two assists). ... York ended a 17-game goal drought. … Lee reached the 20-goal mark for the fourth straight season and the ninth time in his 13 NHL seasons.