Photo Courtesy of Kate Frese
By Rob Riches, Sports Talk Philly contributor
Fresh off the heels of their 4-3 overtime thriller on Wednesday against Detroit, the Flyers head up the New Jersey Turnpike and into Brooklyn for their first matchup against the New York Islanders this season.
The Islanders have been a bit sluggish out of the gate so far this season, dropping three of their first four games and sitting at 4-6-0 with eight points — three points behind the Flyers for seventh place in the tight Metropolitan Division. They host the Orange and Black in the third game of a five-game homestand, which most recently saw them fall 6-1 to Tampa Bay on Tuesday.
Puck drop is set for 7 p.m.
| Flyers Leaders | GP | G | A | P | Islanders Leaders | GP | G | A | P |
| Claude Giroux | 11 | 2 | 11 | 13 | Brock Nelson | 10 | 3 | 6 | 9 |
| Wayne Simmonds | 11 | 6 | 6 |
12 |
John Tavares | 10 | 4 | 4 | 8 |
| Jakub Voracek | 11 | 6 | 5 | 11 | Josh Bailey | 10 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| Mark Streit | 11 | 3 | 5 | 8 | Dennis Seidenberg | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| Brayden Schenn | 11 | 2 | 6 | 8 | Travis Hamonic | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| Player to Watch | |
| 28 Claude Giroux | 91 John Tavares |
| Last 5 Games: 2 G, 4 A, 6 P, -2 | Last 5 Games: 3 G, 3 A, 6 P,+2 |
Claude Giroux set Jakub Voracek up for last night's overtime winner, giving him points in 10-consecutive games — a new career-high, and the league's longest point streak.
Islanders captain John Tavares has been their go-to since entering the league in 2009, and this year is no exception. In 34 career games against the Orange and Black, he's recorded 14 goals and 27 points.
| Goalie Matchup | |
| 30 Michal Neuvirth | 41 Jaroslav Halak |
| 3-1-0, 3.64 GAA, .865 SV% | 2-3-0, 3.15 GAA, .898 SV% |
Michal Neuvirth is back between the pipes for the second straight night and third straight game. While Neuvirth looked shaky at times on Wednesday, the Flyers are clearly showing trust in Neuvirth.
Jaroslav Halak looks to get the nod for the Isles. He was brought in for relief in Tuesday's shellacking, and allowed three goals of his own.
Flyers Projected Lineup
Scratches: Dale Weise, Boyd Gordon, Andrew MacDonald, Scott Laughton, Michael Del Zotto
| Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
| 12 Michael Raffl | 28 Claude Giroux | 17 Wayne Simmonds |
| 11 Travis Konecny | 14 Sean Couturier | 93 Jake Voracek |
| 24 Matt Read | 78 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare | 13 Roman Lyubimov |
| 76 Chris VandeVelde | 10 Brayden Schenn | 25 Nick Cousins |
| Defense | ||
| 53 Shayne Gostisbehere | 55 Nick Schultz | |
| 9 Ivan Provorov | 32 Mark Streit | |
| 3 Radko Gudas | 23 Brandon Manning | |
| Goalie | ||
| 30 Michal Neuvirth |
Game Notes
- Power Play: Flyers (4th, 11th on road), Islanders (26th, 28th at home)
- Penalty Kill: Flyers (24th, 22nd on road), Islanders (15th, 16th at home)
- Recent History vs. Islanders:
- April 10, 2016 – The Flyers concluded their regular season with a 5-2 win over the Islanders, followed by an emotional team call to Ed Snider before his passing. Nikolay Kulemin and Matt Martin gave the Islanders an early 2-0 lead, but Shayne Gostisbehere and Evgeny Medvedev tied it before the first period could end. Michael Raffl, Scott Laughton and R.J. Umberger all scored, while Michal Neuvirth made 15 saves.
- March 21, 2016 – Nick Cousins, Brandon Manning, Sam Gagner and Claude Giroux all scored in a 4-1 rout of the Islanders, with Kyle Okposo recorded their lone goal. Steve Mason stopped 23 of 24 shots.
- Jan. 9, 2016 — Matt Read recorded a goal and two assists in a 4-0 shutout of the Islanders, while Raffl, Medvedev and Sean Couturier potted goals of their own. Mason turned away all 20 Islanders shots, for his fourth shutout of the season.
- April 10, 2016 – The Flyers concluded their regular season with a 5-2 win over the Islanders, followed by an emotional team call to Ed Snider before his passing. Nikolay Kulemin and Matt Martin gave the Islanders an early 2-0 lead, but Shayne Gostisbehere and Evgeny Medvedev tied it before the first period could end. Michael Raffl, Scott Laughton and R.J. Umberger all scored, while Michal Neuvirth made 15 saves.
- A Look Back in Flyers History - While the Flyers and Islanders are both known for intense divisional battles, there was a time where they met in the Stanley Cup Finals, thanks to the league's 16-team playoff seeding at the time. The Flyers were playing in their fourth Final in seven seasons, while the Islanders made it for the first time in franchise history. In a series perhaps best-known for Leon Stickle's blown offsides call, the Islanders won in six games — en route to four-consecutive Cups, a feat no team has matched since.
TV: CSN
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
