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Carter, Kapanen fuel Flyers past Islanders

Oct 14, 2007 - 4:03 AM PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) -- Last season, the Philadelphia Flyers did not register their third win until after their 11th game. This season, the youthful team is being a bit impatient.

Jeff Carter and Sami Kapanen scored two minutes apart in the second period and Martin Biron stopped 29 shots as the Flyers posted their third win in four games, a 3-1 victory over the New York Islanders on Saturday.

With the Islanders pressing for an equalizer, Flyers captain Jason Smith blocked a shot and then, from his knees, slapped the puck the length of the ice for an empty-net goal with six seconds remaining in the game.

"I was trying to get it down the ice," Smith said. "You're sitting down on your knees and I happened to shoot it in the right direction, and I'm happy it went in."

The tally snapped a 38-game goalless drought for Smith, who last scored on January 18 against Anaheim as a member of the Edmonton Oilers.

"It's important for us to build momentum," Smith said. "From day one of training camp, we came in with the attitude that we're going to work hard and play hard every game.

"When we do that, we're going to give ourselves a chance to win. With the guys we have in this room, we're going to score goals. And with the goaltending we have, we're going to do well."

Flyers coach John Stevens was thrilled with the win.

"We don't refer to last year, it's a totally different team," Stevens said. "These are the kind of games we have to win if we expect to compete."

"We want to create an identity for ourselves, and we've done a good job so far," Flyers center Daniel Briere said. "We can't get too excited because we're only four games into the season."

The Flyers opened the scoring in the second period with their fifth power-play goal of the season.

Controlling the puck at the left side of the net, Carter attempted to feed teammate Scott Hartnell, who was stationed in front. Rick DiPietro got a piece of the pass, but Carter was able to regain control of the puck and stuff it past the goaltender for his third goal of the season.

"You can't win a lot of games with one line scoring," Carter said. "You need everybody to contribute, and I think that we have the guys that can definitely do it."

Kapanen doubled the advantage two minutes later.

A failed clearing attempt by the Islanders resulted in Hartnell finding Kapanen alone on the doorstep. As DiPietro moved across the crease, Kapanen calmly settled the puck and shifted it to his forehand before beating the netminder with 8:46 expired.

"That's the nature of the game, and it happens," DiPietro said. "Kapanen made a good pump and went around. It was unfortunate, but we played a pretty solid game."

Islanders coach Ted Nolan agreed.

"The first goal just kind of squeezed in," Nolan said. "The second one, we overskated the puck. Sometimes, you get the breaks and sometimes you don't. They got the breaks on the first two goals. It was just one of those things."

The tally was Kapanen's first of the season, snapping an 18-game drought.

"Early on in the season, I've been playing without patience," Kapanen said. "On the goal, I had enough patience to kick it back with my stick and made sure I got a good shot - and it paid off."

New York halved the deficit in the third period while shorthanded. The Flyers failed to keep the puck in the offensive zone, allowing a 3-on-1 rush by the Islanders. Josef Vasicek elected to keep the puck and blasted it past a screened Biron just 2:38 into the session.

"When you're down 2-0, you need to get the first one," Vasicek said. "I decided to take the shot."

The goal ended Biron's bid for his 19th career shutout and first since April 18, 2006, when he made 33 saves in a 4-0 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes as a member of the Buffalo Sabres.

Biron, however, has enjoyed success against the Islanders, winning nine of his last 13 meetings with the club.

"We have a plan, and it's about executing the plan that we put in place," Biron said. "Our goal is not going to alter the way we play out there. We felt like we were in control out there."

DiPietro, who went 5-0-0 with a 2.17 goals-against average last season against the Flyers, made 20 saves in the loss.

Chris Simon returned to the ice after receiving a 25-game suspension late last season for a high-sticking incident involving Ryan Hollweg of the New York Rangers. The enforcer played just over six minutes and received a five-minute major after fighting Riley Cote in the second period.

"The end result was disappointing, but it was nice to get back," Simon said. "I'm just moving forward now. Once summer started, I started training to get ready for this game. I have to focus now on the next game."

Flyers left wing Ben Eager experienced dizziness after a hit by Islanders defenseman Brendan Witt during the first period and left the game. He did not return.