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NEW YORK ISLANDERS (19-20-7) VS PHILADELPHIA FLYERS (22-21-6)

7:30 PM | UBS ARENA | BUY TICKETS

WATCH: MSGSN | MSG+ | ESPN+

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

HOW OPTIMUM SUBSCRIBERS CAN WATCH THE ISLES

The New York Islanders are eying a third-straight win, when they host the Philadelphia Flyers on Star Wars Night at UBS Arena.

The Isles have won two straight games, 3-1 over Columbus on Monday and 4-1 over San Jose on Saturday, piecing together their first two-game home winning streak of the season. A win on Friday would also tie the Isles’ longest winning of the season at three games, which they accomplished earlier in the month.

Overall, the Islanders have won five of their last seven games.

The Flyers are coming off a 6-1 loss to the New York Rangers on Thursday night in the first half of a back-to-back set. Owen Tippett scored at the 1:25 mark of the contest, but the Rangers came out with six unanswered goals to snap the Flyers' three-game winning streak and season-long six-game point streak (5-0-1).

STAR WARS NIGHT

Friday is Star Wars night, and may the force be with all those in attendance at UBS Arena. The first 10,000 fans in attendance will receive a Star Wars replica jersey, courtesy of Dime.

MORNING SKATE UPDATES:

Ilya Sorokin will start for the Islanders against the Flyers. Sorokin is 14-14-4 this season with a 2.81 GAA, a .902 SV% and two shutouts. Against Philadelphia, Sorokin is 9-3-2 with a 1.68 GAA, a .943 SV% and three shutouts.

SEASON SERIES:

The Islanders trail the season series 0-1-0, falling to the Flyers 5-3 on Jan. 16.

The stakes of Friday’s game are high, as the Islanders (45 points), look to close the gap with the Flyers (50 points) who are ahead of them in the standings, though the Isles have three games in-hand. The two Metro rivals will meet again in Philly on Jan. 30, and again on April 12 to close out the season series.

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ISLES NOTES:

- Noah Dobson (lower body) will not play on Friday night and is considered week-to-week. Dobson leads all Islanders defensemen with 24 points (6G, 18A) in 46 games. With Dobson out, Alexander Romanov and Scott Mayfield are expected to skate as a pair, and Dennis Cholowski is expected to draw back into the lineup and skate on a pair with Isaiah George.

- Max Tsyplakov will not play on Friday night as he serves the third and final game of his three-game suspension.

- Hudson Fasching (IR, upper body) skated in a regular jersey in Thursday’s practice. Fasching had previously skated on Monday and Tuesday in a non-contact jersey. Fasching’s status for Friday is TBD, as Head Coach Patrick Roy said he was hesitant to tweak the lineup after a 3-1 win over Columbus on Monday.

- Mathew Barzal is riding a three-game point streak with five points (2G, 3A) over that span. Barzal has points in eight of his last nine games with 11 points (3G, 8A) over that span.

- Bo Horvat is also riding a three-game point streak with five points (3G, 2A) over that span. Horvat has six goals in his last seven games.

- The Islanders penalty kill has taken strides in January, currently killing at 87.5% in the New Year. The Islanders have killed 14-of-16 penalties over that span and New York is the second-least penalized team in the NHL over that span.

- The Islanders have thrown 77 hits over the past two games. They threw 37 hits on Saturday against San Jose, which stood as the season high until the team threw 40 hits on Monday vs Columbus.

FLYERS NOTES:

- With Sam Ersson starting on Thursday against the Rangers, Ivan Fedotov is Philadelphia’s expected starter on Friday against the Islanders. Fedotov is 4-5-3 this season with a 3.26 GAA and a .879 SV%. Fedotov is 0-0-1 against the Islanders, stopping 19-of-21 shots in his NHL debut.

- Joel Farabee is heating up for the Flyers, recording four points (1G, 3A) in four games since sitting out as a healthy scratch. The 24-year-old winger recorded his career 200th point in a 2-1 OT win over the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday.

- Travis Konecny leads the Flyers across the board in scoring with 55 points (21G, 34A) in his ninth season with the team. The winger has five points (1G, 4A) in his last four outings.

- Rookie Matvei Michkov, who tallied an assist against the Islanders on Jan. 16, saw a three-game point streak (1G, 2A) come to an end on Thursday. The 20-year-old ties Macklin Celebrini for most goals along rookies (14) in the NHL. The Russian winger was drafted seventh overall in the 2023 NHL Draft.

- The Flyers have been struggling on the second half of back-to-back sets this season with a record of 1-6-1, but they haven't won in regulation as thier one win in the second night of a back-to-back came in a 3-2 overtime win over the St. Louis Blues on Nov. 30.

- The Flyers power play has been struggling this season, converting at 16.4% (29th in the NHL) but has been hot as of late. Over the span of their six-game point streak (5-0-1), Philadelphia went 5-for-18 on the man advantage, but their power play was 0-for-3 against the Rangers on Thursday night.