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Flyers hope Oskar Lindblom’s breakout game is a sign of things to come.

Vigneault put Lindblom on a line with center Claude Giroux and right winger Konecny. They combined for three goals, four assists, and 11 shots. Expect them to be together for a while.

The Flyers' Oskar Lindblom (23) celebrates his late goal with his teammates Thursday, lifting Philly to a 4-3 win over the host New York Islanders.
The Flyers' Oskar Lindblom (23) celebrates his late goal with his teammates Thursday, lifting Philly to a 4-3 win over the host New York Islanders.Read moreBruce Bennett / MCT

Left winger Oskar Lindblom, according to his coach, needed a day of rest, a day to “reset” his game during his first season back from a grueling battle with cancer.

The decision could not have worked better.

Looking refreshed, Lindblom had his best game of the season Thursday, scoring two goals as he keyed the Flyers’ 4-3 win over the New York Islanders, a stunning turnaround from a 9-0 loss to the Rangers the previous night.

» READ MORE: Flyers at the halfway point: Can they make the playoffs out of the tough East Division?

The Islanders had not lost a home game in regulation before Lindblom’s heroics, going 12-0-2 in their first 14 games this year at Nassau Coliseum.

Working hard down low, Lindblom scored the game’s first goal on a rebound and helped set up the second one. After a furious third-period Islanders rally turned a 3-0 deficit into a 3-3 tie, Lindblom took a pass from Travis Konecny (three assists) and whipped home a high-slot shot to win it with 2 minutes, 22 seconds left in regulation.

“That’s my game, and I haven’t been doing that,” Lindblom said about his play down low. “I played great today, but there’s going to be a lot of games coming up. I have to keep doing it. It can’t just be one game.”

The Flyers, who reached the season’s halfway points with a 15-10-3 record, play the host Islanders again on Saturday, then face them Monday at the Wells Fargo Center. They are 3-0 against the Isles this year.

Lindblom, 24, was resting when the Flyers were handed the worst road shutout defeat in franchise history Wednesday in Madison Square Garden, but he felt his teammates’ pain.

“It’s always tough to lose a game like that,” he said, “but we’re professionals and we have to get back on track right away. And our leaders like Claude [Giroux], showed us the way and played great hockey” against the Isles.

It was the second two-goal game of Lindblom’s career, and his first since he returned from battling Ewing’s sarcoma, a rare bone cancer. His first tally Thursday ended a 21-game goal drought.

» READ MORE: Carter Hart has become one of the Flyers’ biggest concerns. Who expected that? | Mike Sielski

He was tied with Konecny for the team lead in goals (11) last season when he was diagnosed with the cancer in December 2019.

“I was extremely pleased with the way he played,” coach Alain Vigneault said after Thursday’s victory. “... He was strong on pucks; he looked good. Hopefully it’s the start of something real positive for him.”

For the first time this season, Vigneault put Lindblom on a line with center Giroux and right winger Konecny. They combined for three goals, four assists, and 11 shots.

Expect them to be together for a while.

Giroux called Lindblom a “pretty smart player. When you have a player who’s always in the right position, it makes your job a lot easier.”

The win made the Flyers 15-10-3 for 33 points at the midway point of the 56-game season. They were 16-7-5 for 37 points at the same juncture last year, when they were allowing just 2.64 goals per game -- far below what they are yielding this season (3.46 goals per game, 29th in the NHL).

The Flyers’ record this year has been bolstered by their success against the three New York-area teams: a combined 7-1-1 record. They are 3-0 against the Islanders, 2-1-1 against the Rangers, and 2-0 against the Devils.

Conversely, they have lost all five games against the Bruins, going 0-3-2 against the team three points directly ahead of them for the fourth playoff spot in the East Division. The last loss to Boston was a 7-3 defeat in Lake Tahoe, a game the NHL forced the Flyers to play even though they were missing six regulars who were on the COVID-19 list.

The Islanders’ game scheduled for Tuesday in Boston has been postponed because the Bruins are now dealing with their own COVID protocols.

Breakaways

Giroux has four goals and two assists over his last six games. ... Konecny has 10 points in 10 March games. Before a recent hot streak, he had gone pointless in six straight games. ... The Isles have lost two straight for the first time in a month. ... Commenting on Thursday’s loss, Islanders coach Barry Trotz said he “liked the fact that we came back, but then we shoot ourselves in the foot.” An ill-advised icing by Scott Mayfield helped set the stage for Lindblom’s winning goal.