Game 4 Preview: Islanders vs Flyers

NEW YORK ISLANDERS VS PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
GM 4 | AUG. 30 | 8 PM | SCOTIABANK ARENA
ISLES LEAD BEST-OF-SEVEN SERIES 2-1
WATCH: NBC | CBC | SN | TVAS | NHL.TV
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For the first time since 1993, the New York Islanders lead a Second Round series 2-1. They'll look to extend that lead to 3-1 when they take on the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 4 on Sunday night (8 p.m., NBC, CBC, SN).
The Isles took a 2-1 series lead after a 3-1 win over the Flyers in Game 3 on Saturday night. The Isles allowed the opening goal, but stormed back with three unanswered goals to take a series lead.

It was a solid bounce-back effort from the Isles who haven't lost consecutive games in the postseason. They're expecting a stern pushback from the Flyers, who haven't lost consecutive games since early January.
"Whatever's thrown at us, we won't waver," Head Coach Barry Trotz said after Game 2. "That mindset has paid dividends for us, even if we get scored on early or don't have a great stretch of period, or two periods, that you get back on track and identity what we need to do to have success. They've done a really good job and that comes from really good focus and really good preparation by them."
ISLES-FLYERS GAME 4
ISLES-FLYERS ARTICLES
Game 3 Notebook
Islanders Playoff Hub
ISLES-FLYERS VIDEO
Game 3 Highlights
Gm 3 Postgame: Martin and Brassard
Gm 3 Postgame: Lee and Varlamov
ISLES PLAYOFF PROMOS
Play Fan Faceoff
Playoff Auction
Playoff Getup Challenge
Playoff Beard Challenge

FINISHING A BACK-TO-BACK:

The Isles and Flyers play the second half of a back-to-back set on Sunday night. Typically, back-to-backs are uncommon in the playoffs, but in such an unusual postseason, they've become commonplace.
The Isles already had a postseason back-to-back vs the Florida Panthers in the Qualifiers and without having to travel from city to city, the strain is less than it would be under normal circumstances. The Flyers also played a back-to-back in their First Round series vs Montreal.
"If you look at the course of the regular season, back-to-backs are pretty popular, they happen all the time," Cal Clutterbuck said on Saturday. "Sometimes you almost feel better on the back end. The physical aspect really isn't something new for us. It's not something we concern ourselves with… We know how to handle it and it's not that big a deal."
The Isles were 5-3-0 in the front-half and 6-1-1 in the back-half of back-to-backs during the regular season. They are 2-0 in the front half and 0-1 in the back half during the postseason.
Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 17-3-2 in back-ends, counting both the regular season and postseason.

TROTZ CONSIDERING STARTING VARLAMOV IN BACK-TO-BACK:

Barry Trotz went back to Semyon Varlamov in Game 3, after pulling his goaltender during a Game 2 loss. After practicing on Friday and skating on Saturday, both of which were beneficial for the netminder, Varlamov rewarded his coach's faith with a strong 26-save performance in a bounce-back effort.
"The maturity of Varly as a pro shows in volumes and especially after losses," Trotz said. "That's the key for being in this league and having success. You can park everything that happened yesterday and reset."
Varlamov improved to 9-2 in the postseason with a 1.69 GAA, a .935 SV% and two shutouts. Trotz said after the game it was conceivable that Varlamov could start again on Sunday. Varlamov played in both legs of the Isles back-to-back vs Florida.
However, earlier on Saturday, Trotz he was considering splitting starts between Varlamov and Thomas Greiss during the back-to-back set. If Greiss gets the nod, it'll be his first start of the postseason. Greiss was 16-9-4 in the regular season with a 2.74 GAA and a .913 SV%. In postseason play Greiss is 5-7-0 with a 2.45 GAA and a .922 SV%.

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LINEUP NOTES:

Derick Brassard drew back into the Islanders lineup on Saturday after sitting three games as a healthy scratch. Ross Johnston came out of the lineup.
Brassard made his return count, setting up Leo Komarov's go-ahead goal with 5.1 seconds to play in the second period. Brassard kept the puck in at the blue line to keep the play alive and stripped Matt Niskanen behind the net before feeding Komarov.
Trotz said to expect one or two lineup changes, but did not elaborate.

ISLES NOTES:

The Isles shot suppression was on display again in the second period of Game 3. The Isles held the Flyers without a shot for an 11:44 stretch, from 2:41 to play in the first period until 10:57 to play in the second.
The Isles were the first team to beat the Flyers when allowing the first goal in the postseason.
The Flyers were previously undefeated (8-0) when scoring the first goal of the game.
The Isles have not allowed a second-or-third period goal to the Flyers through the first three games of the series.
Mathew Barzal (3A) and Anders Lee (3G) are both riding three-game point streaks.

PREGAME AVAILABILITIES: