Game Preview: Islanders vs. Flyers

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (23-10-4) VS PHILADELPHIA FLYERS (17-14-4)
7PM | NASSAU COLISEUM
WATCH: MSG+ | MSG GO | NHL.TV
LISTEN: 88.7FM | 103.9FM | AM 970
The New York Islanders continue their six-game homestand as they host the Philadelphia Flyers at Nassau Coliseum on Saturday night. It'll be the sixth meeting of the season between the Islanders and Flyers. The Islanders are 2-1-2 against Philadelphia this year.

The Islanders kicked off their home stretch with an assertive 8-4 win over the Washington Capitals on Thursday night. With the two points, the Islanders and Pittsburgh - who defeated Boston 4-1 - are now in a two-way tie in points (50) for second place in the East Division.
Mathew Barzal completed a hat trick and produced a five-point effort in the Islanders' 8-4 win. His linemate Jordan Eberle scored twice, while Brock Nelson, Casey Cizikas and Josh Bailey also scored. Semyon Varlamov made 18 saves on 22 shots in the win.
For Islanders Head Coach Barry Trotz, he noted postgame he's just as happy defeating a good team in a high scoring 8-4 as he is in a gritty 1-0 shutout win, but ultimately cares about how his team gets the job done. Thursday's win over Washington was a reflective, character, balanced win from the Islanders who pride themselves on their team-first mentality.

"We talked about momentum and understanding momentum," Trotz said. "The league is too good to dominate a team for 60 minutes. You're going to have to seize the moments. When a team is starting get momentum and getting a couple of shifts where they're getting you to push back a little bit, you've got to have the group to dig in somehow. You want it ideally with your leadership group. Everybody looks at the leaders and sees how they're playing. If they aren't having any push back then - if you're a rookie - you probably aren't having any push back because you follow your leaders. We had a good response from all of those guys, all of our core people."
Philadelphia enters the matchup after a much needed two-day break following its 6-1 loss - with two shorthanded goals given up - to the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday night that provided the Sabres its first win in 19-straight games. The Flyers sole goal was scored by Ivan Provorov early in the second period. Brian Elliott started the game and allowed four goals on 16 shots before he was replaced by Alex Lyon, who made nine saves on 10 shots in his season debut.
The Flyers currently sit four points outside of a coveted playoff spot in the East Division as they are the fifth-ranked team with 38 points.

ISLANDERS NOTES:

• It was the first win of the season for the Islanders over the Capitals (1-3-0) and marked the first of five meetings this month between the two clubs.
• Four Islanders had multipoint games: Barzal (3G, 2A), Eberle (2G, 1A), Bailey (1G, 2A) and Nelson (1G, 1A), while 10 different players contributed to the scoresheet with at least one point.
• With Barzal's three goal effort, Eberle's two-goal effort and Nelson's sole goal, the trio are tied for the Islanders lead in goals scored with 13.
ISLANDERS VS FLYERS
ISLANDERS ARTICLES
5 Takeaways: Islanders 8, Capitals 4
The Bridgeport Report: March 30, 2021
Pros Lead Girls Hockey Weekend
Maven's Memories: Jason Blake
ISLANDERS VIDEO
Video: Barry Trotz Pregame
Video: Brock Nelson Pregame
Video: Andy Greene Pregame
GAME EXTRAS
Arena Safety FAQ
NYI-Nickelodeon Goalie Mask
Fan Cutout Gallery
Hockey With a Heart
• Barzal recorded his third hat trick and his fourth five-point night of his career. The 23-year-old became the fifth player in franchise history to record at least four five-point outings joining Bryan Trottier and Mike Bossy (15), Denis Potvin (five) and Pat LaFontaine (four). Barzal now leads the Islanders with a team-high 33 points (13G, 10A). Barzal also extended his point streak to three games where he has totaled nine points (5G, 4A) in that stretch.
• Cizikas notched the seventh goal of his season and now has 14 points (7G, 7A) in 37 games.
• Bailey recorded his sixth goal of the year and now has 23 points (6G, 17A) through 37 games.
• Varlamov made his 25th start of the season and improved his record to 15-7-3. The Russian netminder is 8-3-1 in his last 12 decisions, allowing just 30 goals in that span.
• Dobson returned to the lineup for the first time in eight games after being listed on the NHL COVID Protocol list on March 14. Dobson drew in the lineup in place of Thomas Hickey and skated alongside Andy Greene. Dobson totaled 13:45 of ice time, including 1:07 time on the power play, and was plus-one.
• Ross Johnston skated in his second-straight game. Johnston drew in the lineup for the first time since Jan. 26 in Monday's 2-1 loss to Pittsburgh.
• The Islanders power play went 0-for-2 against the Capitals while their penalty kill was 0-for-1 on the night. In the NHL, the Islanders dropped to 20th (19.2) in the NHL and their PK ranks 16th in the league (79.6).
• Trotz confirmed following Friday's practice that winger Michael Dal Colle will miss his fourth-straight game with a lower-body injury.
• Nick Leddy is expected to play in his 500th game as an Islander on Saturday night. Leddy has 237 points (44G, 193A) in 499 games as an Islander. Leddy is the eighth d-man in franchise history to play 500 games for the club.

FLYERS NOTES:

• Ahead of the game against Buffalo, Flyers head coach Alain Vigneault took Nolan Patrick and Oskar Lindblom out of the lineup in place of Connor Bunnaman and Carsen Twarynski from the team's Taxi Squad. Vigneault clarified that the intent was for both Patrick and Lindblom to be rested opposed to healthy scratched. Goaltender Carter Hart also got the night off for rest.
• The Flyers placed defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere on waivers on March 30 and he cleared.
• Provorov's goal was his sixth of the season and brought the Flyers back in the game with only a 2-1 deficit against Buffalo early in the second period, but the Sabres would go on to rattle off four-straight goals.
• The game was a rough night for Philadelphia's power play, which went 0-for-3 and allowed two shorthanded goals against. The Flyers power play ranks 18th overall in the NHL (19.8%).
• While Philadelphia's penalty kill didn't have to take any reps against Buffalo, the unit is still ranked the third-lowest in the NHL with a kill rate of 73.3%. Philadelphia is tied with Chicago and St. Louis for the third-most power-play goals against in the NHL at 28, behind Detroit (29) and Nashville (34).
• One area the Flyers still continue to have success in is their FOW%. The team ranks third overall in the league at draws with its 53.6 FOW%.
• James van Riemsdyk leads the Flyers in scoring with his 31 points (13G, 18A) through 35 games.
• Joel Farabee is atop Philadelphia's leaderboard in goals with 14.
• Jakub Voracek has produced the most assists for the Flyers with 22.