Saturday, March 26, 2011
Posted: 9:33 p.m.Updated: 10:56 p.m.
By Matt Caputo
For CSNPhilly.com
BOX SCORE
UNIONDALE, N.Y.It was a meeting of the Atlantic Divisions first and last teams Saturday night on Long Island and it got ugly right away. There were two fights in the opening minute of the Flyers 4-1 victory over the New York Islanders, but the game was hardly a battle.
James van Riemsdyk scored twice in the first period and added another in the third to record his first career hat trick.
Its definitely a really cool milestone and it comes with the help of your teammates, said van Riemsdyk, who said he hadnt scored a hat trick since he played on an Under-18 team in 2007. There have been a lot of great Flyers teams through the years and to have the most road wins in the history of the franchise definitely says a lot about this team.
The Flyers are now one game closer to the franchises first 50-win season since the 1985-86 season. They now have 100 points for the season and have tied a franchise record with 24 road wins.
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Thats impressive because its always harder to win on the road, Flyers coach Peter Laviolette said. You can get the home wins and build up a good home record, but road wins are always a little bit tougher.
The blowout win might have been just what the Flyers needed after disappointing shootout losses to the Capitals and Penguins this week. Coming into Saturdays game, the Flyers had the best road record in the Eastern Conference and had earned at least one point in each of their last eight games, but had only four wins to show for it.
Dan Carcillo and Michael Haley dropped the gloves two seconds into the game and Sean ODonnell scrapped with Zenon Konopka -- who finished the game tied for second in the NHL in fighting majors -- at the 19:39 mark.
You have to give New York credit because theyre playing a spirited game right now, Laviolette said.
Claude Giroux won a faceoff in the Islanders zone and Jeff Carter sent a long wrist shot past Rick DiPietro to draw first blood for the Flyers. Soon after, van Riemsdyk took a pass from Kris Versteeg from the Flyers' blue line all the way to the goal and finished his own rebound to put the Flyers ahead 2-0.
The Islanders answered back at 10:28 when Blake Comeau stuffed the puck past Sergei Bobrovsky, who made 16 saves in the first period. Despite outshooting the Flyers 16-11, the Isles were 0-for-2 on the power play in the first period.
Sergei really came up big for us tonight. He bailed us out a few times, Laviolette said. The Islanders are dangerous right now and theyve done a good job of building their identity, so theyre going to be generating some chances.
Van Riemsdyk scored again at 13:25 after Andrej Meszaros shot rattled around to the boards and landed right in front of the net. Van Riemsdyks goals gave him 18 on the season and the Flyers went to the dressing room ahead 3-1.
Despite the early action, it was a relatively quiet second period. The Islanders had many good chances to get back in the game in the second period, but failed to deliver despite holding the advantage in both shots and faceoffs won. The Flyers managed just four shots in the second.
Bobrovsky maintained his steady play, dropping down into a split to stop a breakaway by Kyle Okposo and using his face to stop a point blank wrist shot from Matt Moulson in the final minute of the second period. Bobrovsky stopped another 15 shots in the second period.
He played really well. He seemed like was in real control back there. He had to make some tough saves, Laviolette said. They were generating quality scoring changes and obviously Sergei handled them well.
In the final period, van Riemsdyk was patrolling the front of the net in search of his first career hat trick. He got what he was looking for, timing a perfect slap shot on a pass from Giroux to put the Flyers ahead 4-1.
I tried not to think about the hat trick too much, but some of the guys were busting my chops and telling me to go for it, van Riemsdyk said. You never really know if its going to happen, but I was getting a lot of good bounces out there tonight.
At 13:03 in the third, ODonnell got into his second scrap of the game, an uneventful tango with Islanders rookie Matt Martin. ODonnell and Martin were both slapped with five minute fighting majors. Martin also earned a game misconduct.
The Islanders never quite recovered from the first-period rush. Giroux dropped flat on his face to deny P.A. Parenteau and the Islanders best scoring chance of the third period before van Riemsdyks third goal.
The Flyers are now 5-0 against the Islanders this season and improved to 45-19-10 (100 points). They will play their last game against New York at home on April 9.
I think it was important to get back on track. I think we tightened things up a little bit, Laviolette said. The Islanders are young and fast and playing with nothing to lose.
E-mail Matt Caputo at caputomedia@gmail.com
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