"What record?" Bryzgalov asked, apparently unaware of his new place in franchise lore.
Michael Grabner's goal with 6:30 to play prevented Bryzgalov from setting a new franchise record of four consecutive shutouts - even though his streak spanned parts of five games since last being scored on with 11:13 left in the Flyers' March 6 win over Detroit.
After Grabner and John Tavares tallied twice in a span of 45 seconds in the third period, the Flyers regrouped and hung on for a 3-2 win over the cellar-dwelling Islanders.
Bryzgalov shattered John Vanbiesbrouck's 12-year-old franchise record shutout streak of 227:40 with 8 minutes and 32 seconds remaining in the second period. Vanbiesbrouck set the Flyers' franchise mark from Oct. 17-27, 1999.
Flyers coach Peter Laviolette said he "never saw someone run [up] that many scoreless minutes" in his coaching career.
"I think it's not for me," Bryzgalov said humbly. "I think it's a great team accomplishment. I know I was not alone on the ice. It is a team thing. And I think the whole team deserves it. I just want to say congratulations to the organization and all players who played these games."
Last night, Bryzgalov also set a new personal-best mark with just 28 seconds to spare, besting his previous mark of 249:15, set with the Anaheim Ducks in the 2006 Stanley Cup playoffs.
Bryzgalov's streak does not rank in the Top 5 in league history. It is more than a complete game away from former Flyer Brian Boucher's modern-day NHL record of 332:01, set in 2003-04 with the Phoenix Coyotes. Ottawa's Alex Connell holds the NHL's all-time record of 461:29, a 1927-28 run that probably never will be broken.
Last night, the Flyers were thankful to hang on for the important two points, which kept them firmly in fifth place in the Eastern Conference heading into this weekend's showdowns with Boston and Pittsburgh. But if the Flyers had it their way, Bryzgalov's shutout streak would still be ticking.
"I think it's pretty cool [for Bryzgalov] to have a record like that," said Claude Giroux, who scored his 26th goal of the season in the first period. "It's not easy to do. We'd love to have given him a shutout again. We've got to find a way to make sure that one is 3-0 and it stays like that."
Scott Hartnell said there was a lot of chatter on the Flyers' bench to keep the Islanders pinned in their own end so Bryzgalov could get the record.
"I think everyone knew about it," said Hartnell, who notched his 33rd goal in the second period. "Obviously, it's a pretty cool thing he's had going on. Any time you can do something special for your team or your goalie, to keep the shutout streak alive, you do it. Block a shot. Or get it off the walls. Or making a play to get it up to the forwards.
"We all did a good job of sacrificing our bodies. Unfortunately for 'Bryz' and us, they made a nice little shot-pass [play]. Every shutout streak comes to an end. It's time to start a new one."
Bryzgalov appreciated his teammates' effort in front of him. He said he was so tired after the game - his 13th start in the last 14 games - that he really couldn't remember what he felt like after the Islanders first scored.
"It's nice when your team supports you," Bryzgalov said. "As you can see, they're blocking the shots, they're diving to block the shots. I think they've played unbelievable. I'm really happy for all our team."
Laviolette called it a "good team effort," though his Flyers were outchanced, 13-10, by the scrappy Islanders.
Most importantly, Bryzgalov picked up his seventh straight win in net, as the Flyers are now just six points back of the Rangers for the top spot in the East with 12 games left.
"You never know where you're going to finish the season or who you're going to play against," Bryzgalov said. "We've got to continue to play hard and play right. If you play right, like we did, the games take care of themselves and the points take care of themselves. We're on the right path right now. We've just got to continue to move forward."
Contact Frank Seravalli at seravaf@phillynews.com or on Twitter at @DNFlyers.
Read his blog at www.philly.com/FrequentFlyers.
