Preseason Game 1 Preview: Flyers-Islanders

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(Kevin Durso/Sports Talk Philly)

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

For a small group of Flyers players, Sunday will be a time to put away the drills and take the ice for an actual game.

The preseason gets underway on Sunday afternoon with a matchup against the New York Islanders. The opening face-off is set for 1 p.m.

The Flyers and Islanders are playing in just the second preseason game on the NHL schedule after gameplay kicked off on Saturday evening. This could be a final chance for several players, as roster cuts are expected to come as early as Monday for a lot of the players.
 
This game marks the first on-ice look for a few of the combinations seen at training camp on Friday and Saturday.
 
The Flyers have kept the lineup rookie heavy as expected. Nolan Patrick, Oskar Lindblom, German Rubtsov, Mikhail Vorobyev and Ivan Kosorenkov will all take the ice for the first time among the forwards. 
 
The defensive group should have Flyers fans drooling. Ivan Provorov and Shayne Gostisbehere are the only bets in the lineup, leaving the four rookie contenders for two roster spots to play in the remaining spots. That would Travis Sanheim, Sam Morin, Robert Hagg and Philippe Myers. 
 
Alex Lyon and Leland Irving will serve as goalies for the preseason opener. 
 
The full Flyers lineup is listed below, with the line combinations based off of their order at training camp.

Flyers Projected Lineup

Left Wing Center Right Wing
54 Oskar Lindblom 64 Nolan Patrick 11 Travis Konecny
12 Michael Raffl 63 German Rubtsov 24 Matt Read
74 Mike Vecchione 21 Scott Laughton 15 Jori Lehtera
42 Cole Bardreau 46 Mikhail Vorobyev 89 Ivan Kosorenkov
Defense    
9 Ivan Provorov 57 Travis Sanheim  
48 Robert Hagg 53 Shayne Gostisbehere  
50 Sam Morin 61 Philippe Myers  
Goalie    
49 Alex Lyon 32 Leland Irving   

The Islanders are throwing more veterans into their lineup. Team captain John Tavares and new offseason addition Jordan Eberle headline the group. The Islanders roster for the game is below.

  • Forwards: Jordan Eberle, Josh Bailey, Mathew Barzal, Andrew Ladd, Arnaud Durandeau, Jason Chimera, Anders Lee, Scott Eansor, John Stevens, Ross Johnston, Tanner Fritz, Michael Dal Colle, John Tavares
  • Defensemen: Nick Leddy, Dennis Seidenberg, Ryan Pulock, Thomas Hickey, Kyle Burroughs, Mitchell Vande Sompel
  • Goalies: Christopher Gibson, Kristers Gudlevskis

The Flyers will next take the ice for a preseason game on Wednesday in a split-squad matchup with the Islanders. One game will take place in Allentown at PPL Center and another in Brooklyn. 

The players not participating in Sunday's game against the Islanders are skating in a morning session at Flyers Skate Zone in Voorhees.

Where to Watch
Online: Islanders.com

Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic

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