VET OFFENSIVE

The Islanders followed a gritty veteran defenseman to a series lead in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Behind a seasoned performance from Andy Greene, whose first goal since joining the Islanders proved the game-winner, the Islanders took a 4-0 victory over the Flyers on Monday night at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto to take a 1-0 lead in the series.

Greene, whom the Islanders acquired from the Devils in February, was a disciplined force whose play was contagious. A captain in New Jersey for nearly five years, Greene played like a leader.

“He’s become an Islander,” coach Barry Trotz said on a Zoom call following the win.

Along with his first-period goal, his first playoff tally since April 2010, Greene registered a team-high four blocked shots and two hits in the victory. One of his blocks was on a play from Flyers right winger Travis Konecny, who took a feed from Kevin Hayes and nearly put it on net before Greene got his skate in front of it.

“I think one was luckier than the other,” Greene said of his goal and the block on Konecny. “The goal I just got to the middle there and saw a shot and put that through. The [block] was —

I can’t let that pass get through and at that point, once it did, it was just kind of desperation mode and I got lucky.”

After defenseman Johnny Boychuk went down in Game 1 of the play-in series against the Panthers, Trotz inserted Greene and has opted to keep him despite Boychuk’s recovery. Greene has even been tasked with playing on his off side, something he’s made look easy.

Trotz believes that the extended time Greene has gotten with his Islanders teammates has benefited him greatly. Islanders captain Anders Lee just thinks Greene’s leadership has been a major complement to an already mature team.

“Greener is so solid back there,” Lee said. “Such a veteran presence, he’s been around, he’s seen a lot playing in a ton of big games. His experience has been extremely valuable for us and our D-corps. The vocal leader that he is, there’s a reason why he was a captain in Jersey.

“Such a great guy that’s come into our room and really made a phenomenal impact. And tonight to get us going, that was huge.”

Flyers goaltender Carter Hart was the only reason the Islanders weren’t up by three or four goals after the first period. The

Islanders held Philadelphia to just four shots in the first, but a series of highlight-reel saves from the Flyers’ second-year netminder kept it a one-goal game.

Varlamov posted his second straight shutout, turning aside all 29 shots he faced.

The Islanders seemingly caught the Flyers off guard with their physicality and discipline. Frequently giving the puck away in their own zone, the Flyers were on their heels as the Islanders broke up any rush the Eastern Conference’s top seed could muster.

Greene blasted the puck through traffic, and then through

Hart, to put the Islanders up 1-0 at 6:06 of the opening period.

The Flyers quickly woke up in the second period, matching their first-period shot total in the first 3 ½ minutes of the middle frame. Unable to get a shot off until over eight minutes in, the Islanders chased Philadelphia for much of the period.

“The second period we kind of got away from our game a little bit and they took it to us,” Greene said.

But Varlamov stood tall as the Flyers pinned the Islanders in their defensive zone several times throughout the second, keeping Philly off the board as they outshot the Isles 15-7.

The Islanders extended their lead early in the third period after strong play from Ross Johnston and Leo Komarov in the corner pushed the puck out to J-G Pageau in front of the net for the score that made it 2-0 at 2:54.

Anders Lee gave the Islanders a 3-0 lead, burying a perfectly executed three-on-two rush at 8:50 of the third.

The Flyers pulled Carter Harter with 7:50 left in the game and a clear from Devon Toews put the Islanders up 4-0.

“We’re a team from top to bottom, I know that sounds weird and cliché, but we need every single guy out there every night, every game and when we do that, we’re a very good team,” Greene said. “It’s just not about one guy, it’s about the group of six of us out on the ice.”