Philadelphia Flyers: Win or go home Game Seven

The Flyers have all of the momentum over the Islanders heading into a win or go home Game Seven.

After the Islanders went up 3-1 in the series, it seemed like a matter of days before the Flyers were sent home. And then they won Game Five in overtime. And then Game Six in double overtime. So that means Game Seven will go to triple overtime, right?

Well, let’s hope that isn’t the case. A true win or go home game already has enough stress attached to it. We don’t need to add in multiple overtimes to the mix. The Flyers are trying to go past the second round for the first time since 2010.

That was the year they came back against the Boston Bruins from down 3-0. And by that score in the seventh game. They made it to the Stanley Cup Finals that season. But we won’t talk about what happened that year.

The focus is on tonight’s Game Seven against the Islanders. We should see a fairly similar lineup, depending on the statuses of Sean Couturier and Joel Farabee. Both missed Thursday’s game and are likely question marks for this one as well.

Couturier appeared to injure his right knee after a collision with Mat Barzal. He would not return for the third. Farabee took a shoulder to the head. He would finish the game, however.

Michael Raffl jumped back into the lineup after dealing with an undisclosed injury. And we saw the return of Oskar Lindblom as well. It was said that the Flyers were originally telling Lindblom he would play if the team made it to the Conference Finals. That changed when the team needed an extra body.

While we can all hit guarantee that Carter Hart will be in net, it’s the Islanders’ goaltending situation that is up in the air. Barry Trotz declined to comment on who his starter would be, only saying that both goaltenders were really good options.

So the Flyers will have to be ready no matter who they end up facing. This was already the first time in the playoffs the Islanders have lost back to back. They will be hungry to make sure that number doesn’t become three.

They are also a hard team to score against late in the game so better get a lead early and keep it. The tying goal on Thursday was only the third goal the Islanders have given up a goal in the third period.

And while it may not sound right, another key to victory is keeping the Islanders’ fourth line at bay. While they haven’t done all the scoring, they’ve done a good job at tiring the Flyers out in their own zone. Philadelphia cannot let themselves get stuck on the ice against such a talented team.

And they will need a much better performance than Thursday. While they came out on top, they were heavily outshot the entire game. It was Hart that allowed them to win this one. He made huge save after save, especially during overtime.

Score early and score often. And don’t get caught on the ice for too long. Follow those simple steps and the Flyers could come out on top in this Game Seven.