Goalie Elliott helped save first half of a rough season

The first half of the Flyers’ regular season is one game from completion. If not for goaltender Brian Elliott, there may not have been much reason to play the second.

Though Elliott has gone just 18-18, including a 6-4 victory Thursday over the New York Islanders, he has made enough important saves at enough vital times to keep the Flyers within reasonable playoff range.

“Well, he’s been real good for us,” Dave Hakstol said. “I think there have been one or two games where our goaltenders have stolen games. He certainly has. Neuvy (Michael Neuvirth) was that guy in (a 2-0 early-season victory) in St. Louis, to be sure. But on a regular basis, Brian has given us three, four, five good, timely saves pretty much every night.”

Elliott, 32, toted a 2.69 goals-against average and a .911 saves percentage into the Wells Fargo Center Thursday, when he made his 15th consecutive start. His consistency kept the Flyers competitive on nights when they were struggling … and, of those, there were many.

“He can win a game on a night when you are far less than at your best,” Hakstol said. “And those nights happen on the schedule. But also, on a regular basis, he is able to give the guys confidence that when there is a mistake or a breakdown, he is going to be there and shut that play down.

“Ells has done a lot of that for us.”

Elliott held on Thursday to improve his career record against the Islanders to 6-1-6. *** The Flyers have won two of their last three, responding well to a 5-1 loss Tuesday against Pittsburgh.