NEW YORK — Brandon Manning’s first career NHL goal after 66 games was the convergence of a few factors.
There was skill: his wrist shot just inside the left faceoff circle that beat Islanders goalie Thomas Greiss on the high glove side at the 13:01 mark of the second period was placed perfectly.
There was timing: Manning emerged from the penalty box after sitting for two minutes for a cross-check and positioned himself just past center ice right as the Flyers’ penalty kill was finishing off a clear.
And yes, there was a little bit of luck, too: the third-pair defenseman thought the puck had bounced off the referee before landing on his stick.
“For whatever reason, their D-men backed off quite a bit, I had a bit of room,” Manning said. “Lucky for me, it went in.”
Lucky for the Flyers, too.
Manning’s goal was the game-winner in what wound up being a 4-1 win for the Flyers over the Islanders on Monday, pulling them back within a point of the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference (see story).
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It even rendered usually-stoic coach Dave Hakstol positively giddy after the game — by his standards, at least.
“I actually think I put my arms in the air when he scored,” Hakstol said. “It was just a great play by him. [Manning], he’s worked real hard and he’s stringing together some real consistent games for us over the past four, five, six games and he got rewarded tonight.”
Adding to the impact of Manning’s goal was the fact that the Flyers had come perilously close to giving up a goal on the penalty kill just 10 seconds earlier. It took a full-extension save from goalie Steve Mason to keep Islanders left winger Brock Nelson’s rebound attempt out, which would have given New York a 2-1 lead.
It was the post-save clear that wound up on Manning’s stick and in the back of the Islanders’ net — a two-goal swing.
“It’s a momentum save and then great for [Manning] to go down with a great shot,” Mason said. “It’s quite a first NHL goal, too.”
Manning’s parents have a plaque in their home commemorating his first NHL game, which came all the way back on March 8, 2012, but they won’t receive a certain memento from Monday anytime soon — Manning plans to keep the puck from his first goal for a while.
“I might hang onto this one for myself,” he said.