PHILADELPHIA -- The Philadelphia Flyers considered it one of their best efforts of the season.

The New York Islanders, however, considered it one of their most disappointing.

It all translated into the Flyers outplaying the Islanders from the opening faceoff to the final buzzer for a dominating 4-0 win on Saturday afternoon at Wells Fargo Center.

"That's what we said before we went out," Philadelphia left winger Michael Raffl said. "We need a big start in our building. Our first line went out there and just dominated that first shift.

"People went wild it the stands -- that gives you energy for the next shift."

The Flyers were the aggressors from the get-go, outshooting the Islanders 11-2 after one period before breaking through for two second-period goals and earning their third straight win.

Left winger Matt Read had a three-point game (one goal, two assists), while Raffl, defenseman Evgeny Medvedev and center Sean Couturier also netted goals as Philadelphia (18-15-7) beat its Metropolitan Division rival for the first time in three tries this season.

"The first shift did set the tone," Flyers coach Dave Hakstol said. "Sometimes you come out of the first period where we felt we played pretty well and had some good opportunities and we weren't able to capitalize -- sometimes that can backfire on you, but it didn't.

"Our guys stuck with it and made things happen.”

On the other hand, New York (22-15-5) was undisciplined, committing five penalties before the third period, and a step slower en route to picking up its third loss in the last four games.

"We just looked a bit off, sluggish, nothing was crisp and we paid for it," New York right winger Kyle Okposo said. "We have to come out with a better effort than that.

"At least we had some push back last game. ... Today was just flat throughout.”

Over this four-game stretch, the Islanders have surrendered 18 goals.

"Obviously, it is not working with some of the guys we have now,” New York coach Jack Capuano said. "For me, it's about 60 minutes.

"I don't know if it's unacceptable, it's just unacceptable about some of the way certain guys are playing right now. We've got some guys that have to find their game."

Flyers goalie Steve Mason (9-10-5) needed to make only 20 saves to post his third shutout.

It was the opposite for Islanders goalie Jaroslav Halak (10-8-3), who was under heavy attack and stopped 27 shots.

Read highlighted his first multi-point game of the season when he scored through the legs of Halak midway through the third period to give Philadelphia a commanding 3-0 advantage.

Defenseman Mark Streit took a turnover and fed Read who did the rest.

Three games ago, Read was a healthy scratch for the first time in his career.

"I took a game off to realize where my game was," Read said. "I had to get back to playing smart and with speed, and that's something that maybe I've lacked this last little bit."

Nearly five minutes after Read's score, Couturier put the final nail in the coffin after getting things started in the opening stanza.

After dominating a scoreless first period, the Flyers cashed in 1:27 into the second period off a highlight-reel pass from Couturier punctuated by Raffl's goal.

Couturier was smothered by two defensemen along the back boards but found a way to turn and dish to Raffl streaking to the net for his sixth marker and a 1-0 lead.

Just over seven minutes later, Philadelphia built its lead to 2-0 during a four-on-four in which Medvedev saw a clear path to the net and scored five-hole after cycling and taking a perfect setup pass from Read.

After two periods, the Flyers had outshot the Islanders 21-10, while New York compiled 10 penalty minutes.

"We can't go consecutive games without having any offense," Capuano said. "It's the new NHL; it's the way it's going to be."

For the Flyers on Saturday, they saw their potential.

"If we compete like that, it's hard to beat us," Read said.

NOTES: Islanders D Travis Hamonic missed his first game of the season because of a lower-body injury. Hamonic, who has two goals and six assists, is considered day-to-day. D Scott Mayfield made his season debut in Hamonic's place. ... Flyers D Shayne Gostisbehere was out because of a lower-body injury, the first game he has been sidelined since being injured on Thursday against the Minnesota Wild. Gostisbehere, who has seven goals and nine assists, is considered day-to-day. He was replaced by D Brandon Manning. ... LW Eric Boulton (upper body) and D Johnny Boychuk remained out for the Islanders. ... Flyers C Jordan Weal, acquired in a trade with the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday, was a healthy scratch for the second straight game. ... RW Steve Bernier and D Marek Zidlicky were healthy scratches for the Islanders.