Preseason Game 8 Preview: Flyers-Islanders

The Flyers to this point have posted a 1-1-1 record against the Islanders in the preseason. They fell in overtime at Nassau Coliseum two weeks ago in their preseason opener. The teams met again later that week in split-squad action. The Flyers claimed the game held in Allentown, 3-2, in overtime. In Brooklyn, the Flyers lost to the Islanders, 3-2, in regulation.

 

By this point in the preseason, Sunday's game is less about the result and more about what is to come shortly after the game. The Flyers still have two cuts remaining, and that's the bigger story entering the preseason finale. GM Ron Hextall said the final roster would likely be announced on Sunday night after the game, barring any unforeseen injuries.

 

The lineup for Sunday's game will certainly come into play in providing some insight on what the Flyers roster may be.

 

The top two lines remain the same for the Flyers, but the bottom six of the lineup and the scratches for the game provide a little more substance.

 

In goal, Brian Elliott gets the start, but it remains to be seen if he will play the entire game after Michal Neuvirth was scratched from his start with illness on Thursday.

 

Besides Elliott starting in goal, the Flyers have not officially announced a roster for Sunday night's game, but the below projection is based on the lines used in practice on Saturday.

Flyers Projected Lineup

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
28 Claude Giroux	14 Sean Couturier	93 Jake Voracek
40 Jordan Weal	64 Nolan Patrick	17 Wayne Simmonds
22 Dale Weise	51 Valtteri Filppula	11 Travis Konecny
58 Taylor Leier	21 Scott Laughton	12 Michael Raffl
Defense
9 Ivan Provorov	47 Andrew MacDonald
53 Shayne Gostisbehere	48 Robert Hagg
23 Brandon Manning	3 Radko Gudas
Goalie
37 Brian Elliott

The Flyers line of extras featured Oskar Lindblom, Jori Lehtera and Matt Read. The extra defensive pairing featured Travis Sanheim and Sam Morin.

Islanders Roster

• Forwards: Jordan Eberle, Steve Bernier, Josh Bailey, Mathew Barzal, Cal Clutterbuck, Andrew Ladd, Stephen Giona, Jason Chimera, Anders Lee, Brock Nelson, Casey Cizikas, Josh Ho-Sang, Anthony Beauvillier, Nikolay Kulemin, John Tavares
• Defensemen: Nick Leddy, Dennis Seidenberg, Ryan Pulock, Thomas Hickey, Scott Mayfield, Calvin de Haan, Devon Toews, Adam Pelech, Johnny Boychuk
• Goalies: Thomas Greiss, Jaroslav Halak

The Islanders are going with pretty much an opening night lineup with Tavares, Eberle, Lee, Boychuk and both goalies making the trip to Philadelphia. 

The Flyers have become familiar with this lineup over the past few weeks, notably the younger players still on the roster like Ho-Sang and Barzal.

Where to Watch
TV: TCN
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic