Philadelphia Flyers vs. New York Islanders Preview: Digging Away

The Philadelphia Flyers ended their three-game road trip with a statement win in Colorado, securing five of a possible six points. That moved them back to within two points of third place in the Metropolitan Division, just in time for the return home against the team holding that spot in the standings.

The New York Islanders come into Philadelphia having lost three of the last four games, their latest a 5-0 defeat to the Buffalo Sabres. It’s not quite the magnitude of a March matchup in the final 20 games of the regular season, but there is plenty on the line with the Olympic break coming up fast.

Game time is at 7 p.m.

Matvei Michkov had three points, including two goals, in the win in Colorado, his best performance offensively this season. Michkov has three goals in his last five games after having just one over his previous 20 games.

Anthony Duclair has the scorer’s touch of late. Duclair has five goals in the last six games and eight of his 12 goals this season in nine games in the month of January.

Sam Ersson gets the start for the Flyers. Ersson made 32 saves on 35 shots in a win over Colorado on Friday night, his second win of the road trip. Ersson has two wins over the Islanders this season, both via the shootout, and has a 5-0-0 record in six games against the Islanders in his career.

Ilya Sorokin gets the start for the Islanders. Sorokin made 21 saves on 24 shots in a loss to Seattle in his last start on Wednesday. Sorokin has faced the Flyers once this season, allowing three goals on 26 shots in a shootout loss on Oct. 25.

Projected Lineups

Lineup Notes

• Flyers: Rasmus Ristolainen returns from injury. Noah Juulsen comes out on defense. Nikita Grebenkin comes back into the lineup for Garnet Hathaway.
• Islanders: Calum Ritchie comes out of the lineup for Marc Gatcomb. No other changes are expected.

Where to Watch

• TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia
• Radio: Flyers Broadcast Network