Game Preview: Islanders vs Flyers

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (13-9-2) VS PHILADELPHIA FLYERS (12-7-3)

4 PM | UBS ARENA | BUY TICKETS

WATCH/STREAM: MSGSN | GOTHAM SPORTS APP

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

The New York Islanders continue their seven-game homestand on Black Friday, when they host the Philadelphia Flyers in matinee action at UBS Arena.

The Islanders are coming off a 3-1 loss to the Boston Bruins on Wednesday night on a night where they took a season-high 45 shots and allowed a season-low 14 shots, but couldn’t secure two points. The Isles are 1-2-0 to start their homestand after going 6-1-0 on their western road trip.

The Flyers are coming off a 4-2 comeback win over the Florida Panthers on Wednesday, rallying out of a 2-0 hole with four unanswered goals. Emil Andrae, Matvei Michkov, Tyson Foerster and Sean Couturier scored for the Flyers, while Dan Vladar stopped 25-of-27 shots in the win. The Flyers have won three of their last four games.

The Islanders (28 points) and Flyers (27 points) are separated by one point in the standings. There’s plenty of gridlock in the Metropolitan Division, as five points separate first-place New Jersey (31 points) from the last-place New York Rangers (26 points).

RITTICH TO START

David Rittich will start in goal, per Head Coach Patrick Roy. Rittich is 6-2-0 this season with a 2.59 GAA, a .905 SV% and one shutout. Rittich has won three straight games and is coming off a 19-save shutout in his last outing.

ISLANDERS PROJECTED LINES

The Islanders did not practice on Thanksgiving or hold a morning skate on Friday, so any lineup news will come closer to puck drop.

Here’s how the Islanders lined up against Boston on Wednesday.

Anders Lee – Mathew Barzal – Jonathan Drouin
Emil Heineman – Bo Horvat – Kyle Palmieri
Simon Holmstrom – Cal Ritchie – Max Shabanov
Anthony Duclair – Casey Cizikas – Kyle MacLean

Matthew Schaefer – Ryan Pulock
Adam Pelech – Tony DeAngelo
Travis Mitchell – Scott Mayfield

FLYERS PROJECTED LINES

Matvei Michkov – Sean Couturier – Bobby Brink
Tyson Foerster – Noah Cates – Travis Konecny
Trevor Zegras – Christian Dvorak – Owen Tippett
Nikita Grebenkin – Rodrigo Abols – Garnet Hathaway

Cam York – Travis Sanheim
Emil Andrae – Jamie Drysdale
Nick Seeler – Noah Juulsen

Sam Ersson will start in goal for the Flyers.

A TALE OF TWO SPECIAL TEAMS

It’s been a tale of two special teams for the Islanders.

The penalty kill has not allowed a goal in six games – going 10-for-10 over that span – and has killed 38 of its last 41 opportunities.

The power play is currently in a 0-for-23 stretch over the past seven games and is 5-for-57 over the past 18 games. While Roy felt the Isles power play wasn’t’ sharp in an 0-for-4 night against Boston (he cited the Isles being “too cute” on their entries) he’s seeing good signs from the man advantage. Roy said the Islanders need to get better shots on net and the hope is an ugly goal boosts the confidence and gets the power play on a roll.

STATS ON SHOTS

The Islanders had a season-high 45 shots against the Bruins on Wednesday, but…

The Islanders are 0-4-2 in their last six games when recording 40-or-more shots on goal (per team statistician Eric Hornick).

The Isles have outshot opponents 110-55 over the past three games, but have only scored two goals (not including shootout tallies) over that span.

Defensively, the Islanders have been stingy of late, allowing 14 shots on Wednesday. Another Hornick gem – the Isles 33 shots allowed in their past two games was the fourth-lowest, two-game stretch in team history and lowest since Oct. 12-15, 2002, when they allowed 27 to Washington and Nashville.

SEASON SERIES

The Islanders are 0-0-1 this season against the Flyers this season, falling 4-3 in a shootout on Oct. 25.

The Islanders are 6-1-1 against the Flyers at UBS Arena.

FLYERS NOTES

Trevor Zegras leads the team with 21 points (7G, 14A) in 22 games. Zegras is playing just shy of a point-per-game pace and is poised for his most productive season since recording 65 points in 81 games for the Anaheim Ducks in 2022-23.

Foerster has four goals in his last four games.

Couturier’s goal snapped a 17-game goal drought.

Vladar has started four of the Flyers last five games, going 3-1-0 over that span. Vladar is 9-4-1 with a 2.39 GAA and a .913 SV%. Vladar’s previous career high in wins is 14, set in 2022-23 with the Calgary Flames.

The Flyers power play has not scored in six games, going 0-for-10 over that span.