PHILADELPHIA — It doesn’t matter how many trades the Islanders make if they can’t validate their general manager on the ice. 

Monday was just the first game in a contract that will now run eight seasons for Bo Horvat. But with the Islanders returning from the All-Star break to find themselves hanging onto playoff hopes, it was a big moment for the team, not just the new guy. Commensurate with that, the Islanders played with verve, beating the Flyers 2-1 in a structured and commanding victory at Wells Fargo Center to extend their winning streak to three games and draw even on points with the Penguins for the East’s last wild-card spot. 

“It’s funny, before these three games, everybody’s writing us off,” Mathew Barzal said. “And then you win three games in this league and it’s such a tight division, you’re right back in the mix. 

“I just like our mindset. We’ve got guys that want to play in the playoffs. We’re hungry and we’re desperate. I thought we played like that tonight.” 

With the Penguins holding four games in hand, it might be the Capitals, who have also played 53 times and have a three-point edge on the Islanders, who the Isles are really chasing. But regardless, getting a win here was imperative for a team that came back from the break in a good mood despite a rough January thanks to the combination of winning its last two games before the All-Star break and trading for Horvat. 

That good feeling could have dissipated quickly with a loss to the Flyers. Instead, it rolls on to Tuesday when the Kraken will visit Long Island. And just as important as the win itself was that the Islanders played a game deserving of two points. 

Going into the third period with a 2-1 lead, the Islanders leaned on their defense. Semyon Varlamov, who finished with 25 saves, made a big one to stone Scott Laughton with his glove off a breakaway early in the period. Then the Islanders snuffed out a Flyers power play after Kyle Palmieri was called for slashing at 7:55, stopping them from getting a shot at all during the two-minute stretch. 

They closed it out in classic Islanders fashion, keeping the Flyers from threatening Varlamov once they pulled their goalie and playing the last 20 minutes with near-perfect structure. 

The Islanders had the game well under control early on, as Barzal’s goal from Noah Dobson’s feed 8:08 into the second handed them a 2-0 lead. But the Flyers stayed within arm’s length, as Nicolas Deslauriers tipped Tony DeAngelo’s shot past Semyon Varlamov just a couple minutes after Barzal’s goal. 

Palmieri broke a team-wide 0-for-26 streak on the power play, going top shelf from the left circle 17:07 into a dominant first period to put the Islanders up 1-0. That was one monkey off this team’s back. The other — the lack of a secure spot in the playoffs — will take longer to shake. 

Still, whatever the bar for Horvat’s debut was, the Islanders cleared it. They played a more offensive game. The top line had a solid night, with Horvat and Barzal connecting for a few chances. They got two points. 

“I felt like we established a lot of good O-zone pressure,” Horvat said. “Got myself out there a little too long sometimes. Running on adrenaline there in the first period and then I was overall happy with the game.” 

It wasn’t quite the completely tilted game it looked to be after 20 minutes, but they rarely are. The Islanders still controlled play for long stretches, possessed the puck and had a few decent shifts on the power play, though entering the zone at five-on-four still looks like an issue. 

It is one game, and there are no grand conclusions to be drawn until Horvat has played much more than that. 

But Monday was exactly what the Islanders needed it to be. 

“We are in it,” Barzal said, speaking of the playoff race. “We’re right there.” 

Indeed they are. And for the first time in a long time, the outlook feels positive.