Game Preview: Islanders vs Flyers

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (42-29-5) VS PHILADELPHIA FLYERS (37-26-12)

7PM | UBS ARENA | BUY TICKETS 

WATCH/STREAM: MSGSN | GOTHAM SPORTS APP 

LISTEN: 88.7FM | 103.9FM | ISLANDERS + UBS ARENA APP

**PLAY ISLES BINGO**

With playoff positioning on the line, the New York Islanders and Philadelphia Flyers go head-to-head in a Metropolitan Division showdown on Friday night at UBS Arena.

The Islanders (89 points) are in third place in the Metro, three points up on the Philadelphia Flyers (86 points), who hold a game in-hand on New York. The Isles will look to create some separation with the Flyers, as well as the Columbus Blue Jackets (88 points) and Detroit Red Wings (88 points) who are just outside of the playoff picture.

The Islanders have lost two straight, as they were defeated 4-3 by the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night. Brayden Schenn (1G, 1A), Anders Lee and Cal Ritchie scored for New York, and Bo Horvat tallied three assists in the loss. Ilya Sorokin made 29 saves on 32 shots in the second half of a back-to-back set.

The Flyers have also dropped two straight, most recently falling to Detroit 4-2 on Thursday night.

PROJECTED LINES

Here is how the Islanders lined up at practice on Thursday, with the caveat that Anders Lee took a maintenance day, but is expected to play against the Flyers. Check back after Friday’s morning skate for any updates to the lineup.

Anders Lee – Bo Horvat – Emil Heineman
Anthony Duclair – Brayden Schenn – Mathew Barzal
Ondrej Palat – JG Pageau – Cal Ritchie
Kyle MacLean – Casey Cizikas – Marc Gatcomb

Matthew Schaefer – Ryan Pulock
Adam Pelech – Carson Soucy
Scott Mayfield – Adam Boqvist

SOROKIN EXPECTED TO START AGAINST FLYERS

Ilya Sorokin is expected to start in net on Friday night against the Flyers. He is 1-0-1 against Philadelphia this season, and 12-3-3 with a 1.53 GAA, .946 SV% and five shutouts. Sorokin is 28-20-2 with a 2.59 GAA, .910 SV% and seven shutouts this year.

HOLMSTROM AND DEANGELO UPDATES 

Simon Holmstrom (day-to-day, upper-body) and Tony DeAngelo (lower-body) missed practice on Thursday. Holmstrom missed Tuesday’s game against the Sabres and Roy didn’t provide any update on his status for Friday’s game. DeAngelo has missed four consecutive games with his injury and will not play against Philadelphia. 

Holmstrom has 39 points (19G,20A) and DeAngelo has 33 points (5G, 28A) this season. 

SCHAEFER SETS RECORD...AGAIN 

Matthew Schaefer earned the secondary assist on the Isles’ second goal of the game against the Sabres, bringing his season point total to 57 (22G, 35A).  

Schaefer passed Stefan Persson (56) for the most points in a single season by a rookie defenseman in Islanders history. He also tied Phil Housley (57) for the most points in a single season by an 18-year-old defenseman in NHL history, per NHLStats. 

Schaefer has nine points (2G, 7A) in his last nine outings and his 57 points rank second on the team, only trailing Mathew Barzal (68), this year.

BO HORVAT 

Horvat’s three assists in Tuesday’s loss set a new career-high since he joined the Islanders with 25 assists. The 30-year-old forward has eight points (2G, 6A) in his last eight games and ranks third on the team with 55 points (30G, 25A) this season.  

Horvat is one goal away from 300 career NHL tallies and two shy of 100 goals with the Islanders. 

POWERING UP THE POWER-PLAY

The Islanders capitalized on the power play for the third straight game, matching a season-high that they last achieved from Dec. 9 to Dec. 13. Cal Ritchie, who scored on the man advantage on Tuesday night, is tied for fourth on the team with four power-play goals.

“We really broke it down and used their aggression and eagerness to get out into our favor,” Barzal said. “We opened up a couple of great chances, and I think that’s just how it has to be against certain penalty kills that are really aggressive.”

New York’s power-play (17.0%) ranks 30^th in the NHL this season.

SEASON SERIES  

This is the fourth of four regular season meetings between the Isles and Flyers this year. New York is 1-0-2 in the season series. 

The Islanders shut out Philadelphia 4-0 in the last contest on Jan. 26 on the road.

FLYERS NOTES

The Flyers have lost their last two games, including a 4-2 defeat on Thursday night to the Detroit Red Wings. Tyson Foerester and Travis Konecny scored Philadelphia’s goals while Samuel Ersson made 15 saves on 19 shots against in the loss

The Flyers (86 points) are two points behind the Ottawa Senators (88 points) for the second Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference, and three points behind the Islanders (89 points) with one game in-hand for third place in the Metro.

While the starting goaltender is not confirmed, with Ersson getting the nod on Thursday night, Dan Vladar is likely going to start the back end of the Flyers’ back-to-back set on Friday. Vladar is 1-0-0 with a 2.82 GAA and .897 SV% all-time against the Islanders and is 24-13-7 with a 2.50 GAA and .904 SV% this season.

Konecny is riding a four-game point streak, with six points (2G, 4A) in those games. The 29-year-old leads Philadelphia with 66 points (27G, 39A) this season.

Foerester returned to the lineup for the first time since Dec. 1 on Thursday night. Foerester has 14 points (11G, 3A) in 22 games this season.

Trevor Zegras, who notched an assist against the Red Wings, is coming into the game against the Islanders on a seven-game point streak, with seven points (1G, 6A) in those games. Zegras ranks second on the team with 61 points (23G, 38A) in his first season with the Flyers.

Owen Tippet also earned an assist in Thursday’s loss but is cruising in with nine points (5G, 4A) in his last 10 outings. Tippet ranks third on the Flyers with 49 points (27G, 22A) in this campaign.

Nikita Grebenkin (upper-body) has missed six straight games. Grebenkin has 14 points (4G, 10A) in 55 games this year.

Philadelphia owns the 32^nd ranked power-play (15.3%) and 21^st ranked penalty kill (78.0%) in the NHL this season.