PHILADELPHIA -- When the New York Islanders fired Jack Capuano and replaced him with interim head coach Doug Weight, they were last in the Eastern Conference standings and eight points behind the Philadelphia Flyers.

Since then, the Isles have gone 7-1-2. Their 3-1 victory over the Flyers on Thursday night moved them within one point of Philadelphia and two of the Boston Bruins in their hunt for a wild-card playoff berth.

The Islanders have three games in hand on the Flyers and four games in hand on Boston.

"Slowly, we've inched our way back," Weight said. "We've talked about it a lot. We've put ourselves in that conversation. We've got a lot of work to do, but it's great not to be at the bottom of the list.

"We dug a big hole in the first 2 1/2 months and that's over. Now it's gotta be playoff time for us every game."

John Tavares, Jason Chimera and Casey Cizikas scored goals and goaltender Thomas Greiss stopped 33 of 34 shots to lead the Islanders to their second straight win.

Greiss, who signed a three-year contract extension last month, has gone 7-1-1 in his last nine decisions and is now 17-8-3.

"Greisser kept us in it," Weight said, noting the Flyers' 16-8 shot advantage in the opening period. "They blitzed us early and we got the big saves and the big plays. We bent but didn't break and then we really took the game over."

The Flyers, meanwhile, have lost three in a row and four of their last five. Wayne Simmonds scored the only goal for the Flyers, who have been outscored 20-3 in their last six losses.

"You guys are going to say it's the end of the world, but it's not," Simmonds told reporters. "We came out and started well and we didn't continue our effort. You gotta work for your chances in this league. You can't just hope, you've got to make them happen."

Playing in his first game since a 5-1 loss to Carolina on Jan. 31, Flyers goaltender Steve Mason (29 saves) fell to 16-17-6. He has lost 10 of his last 12 decisions.

"I would have liked to have a better effort after coming out from a week and a half," Mason said. "But the game's over now. I have to find ways to get better for the next one."

The Islanders fell behind 12:07 into the game on a goal by Simmonds but tied it with 3:20 remaining in the first period on a power-play goal by Tavares.

The Islanders captain received a nice pass from Ryan Strome and slung a shot from the right circle that found its way under Mason's right armpit for his team-high 21st goal of the season.

The Isles took a 2-1 lead 2:13 into the second period when three players signed as free agents during the summer connected at even strength. Andrew Ladd, 31, took a pass from 35-year-old defenseman Dennis Seidenberg and found the 37-year-old Chimera streaking down the right side.

Before Flyers defenseman Radko Gudas could recover, Chimera backhanded his 12th goal of the season past Mason and the Islanders had two goals on just eight shots.

The Islanders kept the Flyers on their heels when a strong individual effort by Cizikas resulted in a 3-1 lead just 1:21 into the third period.

"Mostly, we don't want to play in our own end," Tavares said of the Islanders' improved play under Weight. "We want to get up the ice and use the speed and skill we have and be a heavy team on the forecheck. We spent a lot of the time in the beginning of the year defending and that takes a lot of energy out of you."

The Flyers got on the board first when Simmonds scored their first goal in seven days. With Islanders left winger Shane Prince in the box for tripping Nick Cousins, Simmonds parked himself in front of Greiss and jammed a Shayne Gostisbehere rebound over the goal line for his team-high 22nd goal of the season.

It was the Flyers' first goal in 134 minutes, 56 seconds and it was set up by Gostisbehere, who was playing his first game after being a healthy scratch for three consecutive games. In those three games without Gostisbehere, the Flyers' power play went 1 of 9.

NOTES: Philadelphia's Shayne Gostisbehere replaced Nick Schultz and was paired with Mark Streit. RW Matt Read returned to the lineup in place of rookie F Travis Konecny, who is out 4-6 weeks with a lower-body injury. ... Islanders D Nicky Leddy is one point shy of 200 for his NHL career. ... The Islanders will be in Ottawa on Saturday to face the Senators, then return home to face the Avalanche on Sunday. ... The Flyers conclude their five-game homestand on Saturday against the San Jose Sharks. They'll then hit the road for games in Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver.