The Flyers are limping towards the finish line of the 2022-23 season. With four games remaining, they are trying to end things in a high night. They are in the midst of a five-game losing streak after points in seven straight. It’s just the way this season has been.
The Flyers will try to even the season-series as they finish off the road trip against the Islanders. It’s another potential playoff team that Philadelphia could potential spoil. The Islanders won the last matchup in a close 2-1 game in which Nicolas Deslauriers the only goal for the Flyers.
Kevin Hayes scored twice in the second matchup while the Isles scored four in a row to win the first matchup. So if the trend continues, Philadelphia should win this one.
Philadelphia Flyers
Record: 29-36-13 (71 points, 7th in Metro)
The Flyers either run hot or cold, there doesn’t seem to be an in between. They will give it their all and won’t quit when they’re down, but it isn’t always enough.
There have been a lot of positive things to look forward to recently, however. Morgan Frost has caught fire as of late. He’s now third on the team in goals (19) and has 12 points in his last 10 games. As John Tortorella continues to lean on the kids, Frost is one of the players benefitting the most from it.
Carter Hart returned to the lineup after a brief absence due to an injury. He didn’t have much of a chance in the Flyers’ loss to Dallas on Thursday. He made 26 saves on 30 shots, facing 16 shots in the second period alone. That is where the Stars took control of the game. It was a tough one for Hart to come back to, but he’ll have another chance to help Philadelphia right the ship tonight.
Projected Lineup
Owen Tippett – Noah Cates – Travis Konecny
Joel Farabee – Morgan Frost – Kevin Hayes
James van Riemsdyk – Scott Laughton – Wade Allison
Nicolas Deslauriers – Tanner Laczynski – Brendan Lemieux
Ivan Provorov – Cam York
Travis Sanheim – Rasmus Ristolainen
Nick Seeler – Justin Braun
Carter Hart
New York Islanders
Record: 40-30-9 (89 points, 4th in Metro)
Only two of the Islanders, Panthers, and Penguins will make the playoffs. It’s the former two who hold the wild card spots, with the Isles being the bottom spot. Florida has one more win, giving them the top spot. Pittsburgh is only one point back, but do not control their own destiny in terms of clinching a spot.
If the Penguins lose one of their next three while the Islanders win two, that would eliminate Pittsburgh. So these last three games have extreme importance for the Isles. Don’t expect anything easy to come in this one.
Bo Horvat leads the Islanders in goals (38), though he wasn’t on the team until March. As for players who have been there the entire season, Brock Nelson is enjoying a breakout season in terms of his career-high 72 points. His 33 goals are four off of the high he set last season.
Anders Lee is also enjoying a strong campaign with 27 goals and 49 points, the most he has put up since the 2018-19 season. Goals have been hard to come by for Mat Barzal as his 14 goals are currently the lowest of his career, though he’s missed almost 20 games due to injury.
Ilya Sorokin has been the workhorse per usual. He has a 29-21-7 record, a 2.38 GAA and a .924 SV%. The latter is third best in the league while the former is fifth best. His five shutouts are tied for first in the league. His 15 career shutouts account for over 20% of the total amount of games (133) he has played in his career. While Linus Ullmark is running away with the Vezina, Sorokin has continued his strong play.
Projected Lineup
Anders Lee – Bo Horvat – Simon Holmstrom
Pierre Engvall – Brock Nelson – Kyle Palmieri
Zach Parise – Jean-Gabriel Pageau – Hudson Fasching
Matt Martin – Casey Cizikas – Cal Clutterbuck
Adam Pelech – Ryan Pulock
Sebastian Aho – Scott Mayfield
Samuel Bolduc – Noah Dobson
Ilya Sorokin
Where, When, and How to Watch/Listen
Time: 7:30 PM
Where: UBS Arena
Watch: NBCSP
Radio: 97.5 FM
Live Stream: FuboTV
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