Flyers-Islanders: Game 39 Preview

Kevin Durso

April 8 2021

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor

There are still 18 games remaining on the Flyers schedule, and though they technically have time to make things interesting in the playoff race, another loss to Boston on Tuesday sure felt like the dagger. It is going to take a run of astronomical proportions to make the playoffs now, so that would require wins at all costs, especially for the remainder of this week before the trade deadline.

The Flyers week continues with a meeting against the New York Islanders, a team that just made their splash at the trade deadline by acquiring Kyle Palmieri and Travis Zajac from the New Jersey Devils.

Game time is at 7 p.m.

Team Leaders

Philadelphia Flyers	GP	G	A	P	New York Islanders	GP	G	A	P
James van Riemsdyk	38	13	18	31	Mathew Barzal	39	13	21	34
Jake Voracek	35	6	25	31	Jordan Eberle	39	13	12	25
Claude Giroux	36	11	19	30	Nick Leddy	39	1	24	25
Sean Couturier	27	11	17	28	Josh Bailey	39	6	18	24
Joel Farabee	37	14	13	27	Brock Nelson	39	14	9	23

James van Riemsdyk got off to a hot start this season and has been leading the team in points the entire way. Lately, he's been ice cold in point production, with no points in his last seven games and just two assists in his last 12 games.

On the other side, Mathew Barzal is really heating up. Barzal had a hat trick and five points against Washington a week ago, then had an assist on Saturday when the Islanders last faced the Flyers. In total, Barzal has nine points over his last five games after going 10 games with just three assists.

Carter Hart had some good moments in Tuesday's game against Boston, but also had some moments he wanted back. It's a work in progress for Hart, and he'll continue to work his way back to where he was with more ice time. He's expected to get the start against the Islanders on Thursday night.

Ilya Sorokin has really started to get familiar with the Flyers. He faced the Flyers in just his third career start, an overtime loss where he made 25 saves. Since then, he's faced the Flyers three more times, getting wins in all of them. He made 30 saves in the most recent win and has stopped 89 of 93 shots faced in those three games.

Projected Lineups

Flyers Scratches: Morgan Frost (injury), Robert Hagg (injured), Tanner Laczynski (healthy), Erik Gustafsson (healthy)

Islanders Scratches: Michael Dal Colle (injury), Ross Johnston (healthy), Sebastian Aho (healthy), Cory Schneider (healthy)

Lineup Notes

Flyers: No changes are anticipated for the Flyers lineup, though an official announcement on the lineup won't come until later this afternoon.
Islanders: The two newest additions to the Islanders will make their debut on Thursday night. One day after being traded from New Jersey, both Kyle Palmieri and Travis Zajac are in the lineup.

Game Notes

Power Play: Flyers (20th), Islanders (22nd)
Penalty Kill: Flyers (30th), Islanders (11th)
Recent History vs. Islanders
- Jan. 30, 2021 – Flyers 3, Islanders 2 (F/OT) (at PHI)
- Jan. 31, 2021 – Flyers 4, Islanders 3 (F/OT) (at PHI)
- March 18, 2021 – Flyers 4, Islanders 3 (at NYI)
- March 20, 2021 – Islanders 6, Flyers 1 (at NYI)
- March 22, 2021 – Islanders 2, Flyers 1 (F/OT) (at PHI)
- April 3, 2021 – Islanders 3, Flyers 2 (F/SO) (at NYI)
Flyers Leaders vs. Islanders
- Claude Giroux – 58 GP, 21 G, 42 A, 63 P
- Jake Voracek – 48 GP, 8 G, 30 A, 38 P
- James van Riemsdyk – 43 GP, 11 G, 22 A, 33 P
- Carter Hart – 6 GP, 2-3-1, 3.94 GAA, .862 SV%