PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Ilya Sorokin made 23 saves for his third shutout of the season, Marc Gatcomb scored his first NHL goal and the New York Islanders won their sixth straight game with a 3-0 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night.
Simon Holmstrom and Kyle Palmieri also scored for the Islanders, who leapfrogged the Flyers and the idle New York Rangers in the Metropolitan Division standings and are three points out of a wild-card spot.
It was the 21st career shutout for Sorokin, who won his fifth straight game and has allowed just four goals in that span. New York has outscored opponents 21-7 during its streak.
The Flyers were blanked for the second consecutive game. Ivan Fedotov made 25 saves for Philadelphia.
Takeaways
Islanders: New York has been relying on its defense and goaltending during its January resurgence. The Islanders have held their opponents to two goals or fewer in 10 of 12 games this month.
Flyers: Philadelphia’s offense has been scuffling as they scored two goals or fewer for the fifth time in the last six games.
Key moment
Flyers rookie Matvei Michkov thought he had a power-play goal to put the Flyers ahead in the first period, but it was overturned when New York coach Patrick Roy challenged the play for goaltender interference. It was determined Morgan Frost grazed Sorokin and impeded his ability to make a save.
Michkov later got into a screaming match on the bench with coach John Tortorella following a defensive breakdown. Michkov was benched for the final eight minutes of the second period and the entire third period.
Key stat
Tortorella coached in his 1,600th game, the seventh in NHL history to reach that milestone and the first American-born coach to do so.
Up Next
Islanders: Travel to Tampa Bay on Saturday.
Flyers: Off until Sunday when they visit Colorado.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Anthony Sanfilippo, The Associated Press
