3 Keys: Flyers vs. Islanders, Game 6 of Eastern Second Round

No. 1 Flyers vs. No. 6 Islanders
7 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVAS
New York leads best-of-7 series, 3-2

The New York Islanders will try for the second time to eliminate the Philadelphia Flyers from the Stanley Cup Playoffs in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Second Round at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Thursday, and advance to the conference final for the first time since 1993.
Philadelphia blew a two-goal lead late in the third period but avoided elimination with a 4-3 overtime win in Game 5 in Toronto, the Eastern hub city, on Tuesday.
Teams that win Games 5 and 6 after trailing a series 3-1 are 29-28 (50.8 percent) winning a best-of-7 Stanley Cup Playoff series.
New York was successful in its second attempt to advance in each of its previous two series this postseason; the Islanders won their best-of-7 series against the Washington Capitals in five games in the first round and defeated the Florida Panthers in four games in the Stanley Cup Qualifiers, which was best-of-5.
The winner of this series will face the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference Final.
Here are 3 keys for Game 6:

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1. Plan A and Plan B

Mathew Barzal will be a game-time decision for the Islanders; the center left Game 5 with 4:47 remaining in the third period after being hit in the face by Flyers forward Claude Giroux's stick. New York coach Barry Trotz said he has prepared to be with and without Barzal, who plays on the top line and has scored 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in 14 games this postseason.
"You don't want to make a last-minute decision," Trotz said. "You want to get people prepared. Plan B and Plan A are in place, so we're ready. We've talked to a couple of players and I said there's a possibility they may be in. I'm trying to keep all my options open. We've had to extend our roster a little bit in terms of preparation because we have a Plan A and Plan B."

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2. Couturier's status

Flyers coach Alain Vigneault declined to comment on whether Sean Couturier will play after he missed the third period and overtime of Game 5. Couturier was injured when he collided with Barzal with 2:34 remaining in the second.
Philadelphia's top two-way center, Couturier has scored nine points (two goals, seven assists) in 14 postseason games. Scott Laughton replaced Couturier on his line with Giroux and Jakub Voracek after the injury and scored the game-winner at 12:20 of overtime.
"Nobody can replace [Couturier]," Vigneault said. "[Couturier] is obviously one of the best two-way centers in the League, plays a 200-foot game and he's very dependable and trustworthy. ... We'll see what unfolds here tonight, but there's no doubt that whoever's in the lineup, guys have to play well because we're definitely going to have to be at our best tonight."

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3. Finish the job

The Islanders lost the 1993 conference final to the Montreal Canadiens in five games. This is their third trip to the second round since then; they were swept by the Carolina Hurricanes last season and lost in five games to the Lightning in 2016.
"That's something we've been working towards," New York forward Josh Bailey said. "We know all our fans and everyone are watching and excited, so we want to give them something to cheer about."

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Flyers projected lineup

Claude Giroux -- Sean Couturier -- Jakub Voracek
Joel Farabee -- Kevin Hayes -- Travis Konecny
James van Riemsdyk -- Scott Laughton -- Tyler Pitlick
Derek Grant -- Nate Thompson -- Nicolas Aube-Kubel
Ivan Provorov -- Matt Niskanen
Travis Sanheim -- Philippe Myers
Robert Hagg -- Justin Braun
Carter Hart
Brian Elliott
Scratched: Andy Andreoff, Connor Bunnaman, Morgan Frost, Oskar Lindblom, Mark Friedman, Shayne Gostisbehere, Michael Raffl, Andy Welinski, Egor Zamula, Alex Lyon, Kirill Ustimenko
Unfit to play: None

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Islanders projected lineup

Anders Lee -- Mathew Barzal -- Jordan Eberle
Anthony Beauvillier -- Brock Nelson -- Josh Bailey
Derick Brassard -- Jean-Gabriel Pageau -- Leo Komarov
Matt Martin -- Casey Cizikas -- Cal Clutterbuck
Adam Pelech -- Ryan Pulock
Devon Toews -- Scott Mayfield
Nick Leddy -- Andy Greene
Semyon Varlamov
Thomas Greiss
Scratched:Michael Dal Colle, Ross Johnston, Otto Koivula, Tom Kuhnhackl, Andrew Ladd, Sebastian Aho, Johnny Boychuk, Noah Dobson, Thomas Hickey, Christopher Gibson
Unfit to play: None