Game 2 Preview: Islanders at Flyers

NEW YORK ISLANDERS AT PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
GM 2 | AUG. 26 | 3 PM | SCOTIABANK ARENA
ISLES LEAD BEST-OF-SEVEN SERIES 1-0
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The Islanders and Philadelphia Flyers return for Game 2 on Wednesday at 3 p.m. ET at Toronto's Scotiabank Arena, where the Isles look to extend their series lead to 2-0.
Monday night's was the first postseason meeting between the clubs in 33 years, as the Isles pulled out a sturdy 4-0 win to claim the first game of their best-of-seven, Second-Round series and earned their second-consecutive shutout.

It was a whole team effort from the Isles, who received scoring from four different goal scorers - with three goals scored in the third period - and had nine different players make their way onto the scoresheet. They received strong goaltending from Semyon Varlamov, who was a rock in the second period as the Isles weathered an abrasive and dominant push from the Flyers.
"This Flyers team, they're very good structurally, they have a lot of depth at front that every line can hurt you," Jordan Eberle said of the matchup. "There's a lot of differences [between teams] at the same time. We just want to focus on the way we're playing. We know the way we have to play to have success. When we stick to it we generally do."

VARLAMOV CLOSING IN ON TEAM RECORD:

Varlamov stopped all 29 of Philadelphia's shots, including 15 in the second period, to pick up his second-straight shutout and the fourth of his playoff career. While the Islanders were dominant at times, Philadelphia had their chances, especially in the second period. But every account the Flyers attempted to capitalize on a rush or create traffic at the net front, Varlamov was there to deny them.
"Any time that you have your goaltender playing well, it gives your team confidence," Trotz said. "We've played well in front of him, but he's made some really good stops at key times especially yesterday. I didn't care for our game really last night. I thought the first period was strong and then after that, I thought we were average. We've got a lot of work to do and help him out, but he's made big saves at key times. That's the key in goaltending. You look at some of the great goaltenders in the National Hockey League and it's not necessarily the numbers or anything like that. It's making the save at a key time. That allows you to win."
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The veteran goalie is riding a 136:20 shutout streak, 40 seconds shy of passing Billy Smith (136:59) for the Isles playoff record. Varlamov's focus is firmly on wins, rather than records.
"At this point it's not about shutouts, it's playoff hockey," Varlamov said. "So for me, the most important thing is to get the win and then get ready for the next game."

STARTING A BACK-TO-BACK:

The two Metropolitan Division foes return to action on Wednesday afternoon for the first leg of a back-to-back set. By the end of the week, the Isles and Flyers will have played four games in six nights.
During the regular season, the Isles were 5-3-0 in the front-half and 6-1-1 in the back-half of back-to-back sets. Throughout two seasons under Head Coach Barry Trotz, the Isles are 17-2-2 in back-ends.
"If anything, a lot of times you feel better on the back-to-back," Eberle said. "The biggest thing is just that we get a day to recover. Obviously, we know we have two games, but you've got to worry about one at a time. We'll worry about the third game once it comes."

QUICK STARTS:

Starting each period off strong was an area the Islanders looked to refine following their 4-1 First Round Series over the Washington Capitals. Twice in that series, the Islanders had to rally from a deficit and were eventually victorious despite the slow start.
In all seven of the Flyers' wins prior to this series, they scored the opening goal. In all of their losses ahead of this series, their opponent was the first to strike. The Islanders scored their first and eventual game-winner over the Flyers 6:06 into the first period, from Andy Greene's point shot (his first postseason goal in a decade).
"That was one of the focuses going into the series just to have stronger starts and not get behind the eight ball," Devon Toews said. "We started off with the lead yesterday and we went forward with that. There's going to be points where we falter off or points where they push, but we did a good job of keeping that under control."

DEPTH MATTERS:

For the second-straight game Derick Brassard was a healthy scratch. In his place, Ross Johnston drew into the lineup. The winger played alongside Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Leo Komarov and was a catalyst in Pageau's third-period insurance goal. Johnston's forecheck behind the cage created the turnover that Komarov collected and fed to Pageau, who was all alone in the crease.
The game was Johnston's second of the playoffs, in place of Brassard who has more postseason experience than anyone on the roster, but was a necessary change to help assert more dominance over the Flyers. Johnston had 10 hits in Game 1, the most of any Islander in the playoffs and one off the single-game high in the NHL this postseason.
Throughout their run, the Isles have received points from 19 different players, while 13 different players have found the back of the net. The Islanders will continue to rely on their depth and team-first mentality.
"Even if you're not in the lineup, you're an important piece," Trotz explained. "You could go in any time and you have to be prepared and accept the role when you go in. if you go in, you're part of the solution. That's what I think the mentality of everybody here, even the guys that aren't playing, may be an important piece as we go along, but they are important to the group. It gives me the luxury and it gives the backside pressure to your teammates that they've got to perform as well. It gives a really good culture. It's the way, the professionalism, it's those things. We have a lot of people that exude that therefore, they are prepared all of the time."

NOTES:

• The Isles set a new franchise record as they held their opponent to 29 shots for the 10-straight game.
• The Islanders are 17-5 all-time when they win Game 1, while the Flyers are 15-24 when they drop Game 1.
• The Isles recorded consecutive team shutouts for the first time since April 18-20, 1979.
• The Flyers have not lost two games in a row since January since Jan 4-7.
• James van Riemsdyk was a healthy scratch for the Flyers on Monday. His status for Game 2 is TBD. Van Riemsdyk had 40 points (19G, 21) in 66 regular season games, and has zero points in six postseason games.