The Philadelphia Flyers head to UBS Arena tonight to take on the New York Islanders for the third time this month. This will also be the third of four meetings this season between the teams. While both teams are bottom feeders in the Metropolitan, both still have a chance to turn things around. The Flyers will have a lot of work to do in order to do this while the Islanders will have a lot of games coming up to catch up to everyone else.
I really did not believe we would be here. Still searching for a win in 2022 as of the 25th of January. Being in the midst of another double digit losing streak, but here we are. The Flyers never cease to disappoint us when it comes to failure as of the last two seasons, but here we are.
Philadelphia Flyers
Record: 13-21-8 (34 points, 8th in the Metro)
The Flyers have a chance to turn things around starting tonight, having the next 11 of 13 games at home. It would take a miracle for this team to turn it around without their big guns in the lineup but it is possible to go on a streak here at home. It all starts tonight with a W against the Islanders.
The Flyers have been unable to put the puck into the back of the net. Last night, they got a lucky goal from Provorov who put the puck off of a Stars defender’s skate. While they have had countless chances and high danger ones at that, they just haven’t been able to drive the puck home. I feel like they are frustrated by now and must feel like Happy Gilmore screaming at the golf ball because he couldn’t putt it into the hole.
The Flyers are missing big key offensive pieces in Couturier, Hayes and Farabee but the injury bug has not stopped as it has claimed Wade Allison as well. Maybe it’s time to fire the conditioning staff because this injury plague spans across all the teams in the city. Maybe it’s the team doctors clearing these guys too early or the players clearing themselves, but all these injuries seem to be recurring one that were previously sustained.
The stars haven’t been able to score either and it shows. I thought the flood gates were going to open for some of these guys after getting a few but it seems not. You can not win hockey games when you are only scoring 1-2 goals a game and the Flyers need to find a way to become more effective in the offensive zone and keep pressure on the other side.
Their defense has been terrible again as of late, but it is not just the defense alone. The forwards have not been helping. I don’t know how many times I saw the forwards just puck watching last night while the Stars had possession. It has become unbearable to watch most nights. The Flyers have no fundamentals in their game and it shows that Mike Yeo is not the answer. I like Yeo a lot and I hope he stays with the next coach, but only time will tell.
Projected Lineups
van Riemsdyk – Giroux – Atkinson
Lindblom – Laughton – Konecny
Willman – Frost – Mayhew
Sandin – Bunnaman – MacEwen
Provorov – Braun
Sanheim – Ristolainen
Yandle – York
Jones
New York Islanders
Record: 14-14-6 (34 points, 7th in the Metro)
The Islanders still have a good chance to make the playoffs having so many games in hand on so many teams in the East. I would not be surprised if this team goes on a run to make the playoffs and sneak in with a wild card spot.. The goal scoring seems to be showing up slowly but if this team gets the lid off the basket, they are a difficult team to play against.
The Islanders are coming off a 3-1 loss to the Maple Leafs. This does not bode well for the Flyers as the Islanders haven’t played since Saturday and do not lost back to back games very often. The grind it out and wear you down strategy of the Islanders is a killer for any team no matter how you look at it.
The Flyers have been dominant and playing good hockey against the Islanders but their goalies have been keeping them in games allowing the Islanders to find their offensive mojo and score. They may not be a team to score first, but they will wear you down and exhaust you to the point where your legs are jello while they’re skating circles around you.
The goaltending of Sorokin has been the biggest weapon of the Islanders. If he comes out strong and battles for the puck, the Flyers are going to be in for a rough night once again on the Island.
Projected Lineup
Bellows – Barzal – Bailey
Lee – Nelson – Beauvillier
Parise – Pageau – Wahlstrom
Martin – Cizikas – Clutterbuck
Pelech – Mayfield
Chara – Dobson
Salo – Greene
Sorokin
When, Where, and How to Watch
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Where: UBS Arena
TV Broadcast: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Radio Broadcast: 93.3 WMMR
Live Stream: Fubo TV
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