Islanders win one for Cal Clutterbuck who was playing his 1,000th game

 The two points were crucial for the whole team. But the Islanders knew how important it was to make Cal Clutterbuck a winner in his 1,000th game.

 “It was big,” captain Anders Lee said. “There was a lot of emphasis on that for sure. He’s meant a lot to this organization for a long time, and a lot to this room. The least we could do was put out a good performance for him.”

 The Islanders brought back some good memories from the past for Clutterbuck’s milestone: Tight defense around their crease backed by solid goaltending. Emotional, physical play that did not lead to taking penalties. And an ability to hold a third-period lead even if the ending was tense.

  It added to a 3-2 victory on Wednesday night at UBS Arena as the Islanders won their second straight while snapping the Flyers’ winning streak at five games.

 “Guys rally around that,” coach Lane Lambert said. “It’s a motivational point. Certainly there’s a lot of guys that have played a lot of games with him in that room. There was a high level of lets-get-it-done for him.”

“  It’s awesome,” said Brock Nelson, who scored twice, including tapping in the winner off Pierre Engvall’s cross-ice feed at 2:33 of the third period. “It definitely feels good for everyone to know we won this one, especially for him so it’s a good memory. It’s an incredible achievement for a guy that plays a tough game. Testament to him, the longevity.”

 Ilya Sorokin made 34 saves for the Islanders (7-6-5), who returned home after a 1-1-2 western swing. Joel Farabee’s tap at the net brought the Flyers within 3-2 at 15:56 of the third period.

 “It was dangerous shots in every period,” Sorokin said. “It was a good game for me and for the defensemen and for our forwards.”

 Carter Hart stopped 22 shots for the Flyers (10-8-1), who never trailed at any point during their winning streak.

 The Islanders ceded just one power play to the Flyers and earned their first win at UBS Arena since beating the Senators 3-2 on Oct. 26. The Islanders are in Ottawa on Friday night before hosting the Flyers again the next night.

 The Islanders had snapped an 0-4-3 skid with a 5-4 four-round shootout win in Calgary on Saturday night.

 “All we have to do is continue to play that way and these things will find a way to turn themselves around,” said Clutterbuck, who just missed capping the scoring with an empty-net goal, though he claimed he was slashed.

   “By no stretch of the imagination were we perfect," Clutterbuck added, "But we defended a lead and we won a game at home in regulation. So it’s a step in the right direction but we have to continue to build on what we’re doing here.”

 The Islanders took a 1-0 lead at 1:49 of the first period as Lee muscled the puck to the crease from behind the net and stuffed it past Hart’s left pad with the goalie failing to adequately protect the post. It was Lee’s second goal in three games but just his third of the season.

 “The opportunities will continue to come and I’ll do my best to capitalize on them,” Lee said. “But it doesn’t hurt when you get a nice bounce.”

 Nelson tipped defenseman Adam Pelech’s shot from the right point at 13:10 of the second period to give the Islanders their first two-goal lead. Defenseman Cam York backhanded in his own rebound after Sorokin had made a stretching pad save as the Flyers came within 2-1 at 14:18 of the second period.

By Andrew Gross

andrew.gross@newsday.comAGrossNewsday

Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.