Greiss, Islanders stonewall Flyers, reach East final

TORONTO — Thomas Greiss stopped 16 shots as the New York Islanders advanced to the Eastern Conference final for the first time since 1993, beating the Philadelphia Flyers 4-0 in Game 7 of the second-round series Saturday.

Brock Nelson had a goal and two assists, and defensemen Scott Mayfield and Andy Greene scored 3:46 apart in the first period. Anthony Beauvillier had an empty-netter with 6:18 left, and New York bounced back after failing to close out the series in losing the previous two games in overtime, advancing to face the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Greiss posted his first playoff shutout in his first Game 7. He was making his third appearance of the series, and second start, in place of Semyon Varlamov, who allowed nine goals on 63 shots in losing the previous two games in overtime, including a 5-4 double-overtime loss in Game 6.

Without being specific, Islanders coach Barry Trotz noted players being injured when asked about his goaltenders during his pregame news conference.

Greiss picked up the New York’s final two wins of the series, after a 26save outing in a 3-2 win in Game 4.

The Islanders face a short turnaround in having to travel to Edmonton, Alberta, to face wellrested Tampa Bay in a series that opens Monday. The Lightning have been off since a 3-2 doubleovertime win over Boston in Game 5 on Monday.

It’s the third postseason meeting between the teams, with Tampa Bay winning the previous two in five games, including a second-round series in 2016.

The Flyers ran out of gas in a game they fell behind 3-0, which led to coach Alain Vigneault pulling goaltender Carter Hart for an extra attacker with seven minutes left. Hart stopped 22 shots.

The Islanders became the third team of the second round of the playoffs to win Game 7 after squandering a 3-1 series lead. Dallas and the Golden Knights advanced to the meet in the Western Conference final after each won Game 7 of their series on Friday.