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Uniondale, NY (Sports Network) - Scott Hartnell scored three power-play goals, recording his second hat trick in five games, as the Philadelphia Flyers roughed up the New York Islanders, 5-3, at Nassau Coliseum.
Hartnell the lamp in every period and also added an assist, scoring the go- ahead goal 54 seconds into the final period. He now has nine goals and four helpers during a six-game point streak for the surging Flyers, who have won three straight and are 9-1-1 in their last 11 games. They have also stretched their road winning streak to a season-best five games.
The puck's going in right now, but we're playing well as a group too," said Hartnell. "We're getting points in the standings, right now we're tied for first in our division and that says a lot for this group too, coming together with the new faces we have."
Mike Richards added a goal and an assist, and Steve Downie also scored for Philadelphia, while Martin Biron made 28 saves in the victory. The Flyers scored the final four goals of the game.
Richard Park, Josef Vasicek and Bill Guerin each scored for the banged-up Isles, who were down another defenseman before the game even started. Chris Campoli left Wednesday's game against New Jersey with a shoulder injury and couldn't go against the Flyers, joining Brendan Witt and Radek Martinek on the sidelines. Aaron Johnson, who recently returned from injured reserve, filled in for Campoli.
Rick DiPietro turned aside 27-of-32 shots, as New York lost for the second time in three games, and for the sixth time in its last nine overall.
"I don't think we were playing all that well with the lead," said Islanders head coach Ted Nolan. " A couple of lucky breaks and they managed to put them in. We were cheating a little bit, the forwards were ahead of the defense. It just fell apart."
Philadelphia cut its deficit to 3-2 early in the second, as Downie won the draw, got the puck to the front of the net and eventually rammed home the loose disc at 5:04.
Hartnell then notched his second of the contest, drawing the Flyers even on the power play at 13 minutes, and early in the third registered the hat trick when the puck took a hard bounce off the end boards and he was able to rifle it past a diving DiPietro.
Richards made it 5-3 with 7:49 remaining, as he went in with Downie as part of a 2-on-1, but elected to take the shot instead of passing. It was the sixth odd-man rush of the game for the Flyers, and Richards ended it by wristing the puck over DiPietro's right shoulder, giving Philadelphia a two-goal cushion.
The Flyers jumped on the board with a power-play goal, as Hartnell drove to the front of the net and buried a rebound at 5:21 of the first period.
The Isles came right back and tied it just 22 seconds later, as Park took the outlet pass from Bryan Berard, went in on a breakaway and ripped a forehand shot top-shelf that glanced off the glove of Biron.
The home squad then made it 2-1, as Miroslav Satan streaked down the right wing and fed Vasicek with a perfect backhand pass. Vasicek then knocked the puck -- and Biron -- over the goal line at 10:35.
Guerin made it 3-1 on the power play when he slapped a rebound over Biron's right shoulder and just under the crossbar with 2:39 left in the stanza.
Game Notes
Nolan told the team's website Martinek will be out at least another week, while Witt could play the next game. He did not give a time table on Campoli...The Flyers have allowed just 26 goals in their last 11 games...Randy Jones added a pair of assists for the Flyers, and Simon Gagne also had a helper. Gagne has recorded a point in each of his last five games since missing 26 games with a concussion...The Islanders had won five straight against the Flyers before losing the first three meetings this season.
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