Everyone enjoying their snow day? Good! We are too, and hopefully the Philadelphia Flyers have as well. Tonight is, arguably, their most important game before the Olympic break. The Flyers will welcome the New York Islanders, who are two points up on them in the standings and have a tenuous hold on third place in the Metropolitan Division. It's a massive four-point swing in the standings that could have serious playoff ramifications.
The Islanders have lost two straight, including a 5-0 shutout against the Buffalo Sabres in their last game. It's been a surprising season for the Isles, who were expected to be underwhelming, but have put themselves in the playoff conversation on the back of a Vezina-caliber season from Ilya Sorokin and rookie phenom Matthew Schaeffer, who has done things teenaged defensemen haven't done in years. They aren't a Cup contender in the way the Vegas Golden Knights or Colorado Avalanche are, but they've got some solid players all the same--this won't be a gimme for the Flyers.
Three Storylines
A possible return for Rasmus Ristolainen
It sure looks like Ristolainen will be rejoining the Flyers' lineup tonight. That's big news for the blue line group, as they've struggled as a unit of late--especially Noah Juulsen, whose ill-advised fight against the Utah Mammoth was a key part of the Flyers' collapse. For Ristolainen, it also gives him some runway to get warmed up for the Olympics, as he'll be a member of Team Finland in Milan.
Grebenkin in, Hathaway sits
It was a bit puzzling to see Garnet Hathaway suit up against the Avs after his gaffe cost the Flyers a win in Utah, but now he is getting healthy scratched so that Nikita Grebenkin can draw back into the lineup. Grebenkin should replace Hathaway on the fourth line.
Ersson still the starter--for now
Sam Ersson will get the start tonight, but a Dan Vladar return appears to be imminent. Ersson's managed to string together a few really good games against top teams, so it makes sense for him to be between the pipes tonight; he's definitely shown he's still got the chops to be a servicable backup once Vladar's good to go.