Playing their fourth game in the last six days and seventh in the previous 12, the Flyers will continue their Metro road trip against the New York Islanders.
These two teams have played plenty of close games over the years. And if you like overtime, there's a good chance you'll see it whenever the Flyers and Islanders face off. Since the start of the 2020-21 season, overtime has been needed in nine games. And 14 of the 19 matchups have been decided by a single goal.
The Flyers and Islanders will see plenty of each other in the next few weeks as they play each other three times in the next two weeks. Philadelphia returns to Long Island on Jan. 24, and the Islanders visit the Wells Fargo Center on Jan. 30. Both games are the second half of a back-to-back.
Philadelphia Flyers
After appearing in the last three games, Olle Lycksell will check out of the lineup. John Tortorella felt that Lycksell struggled against Columbus and is still learning defensive assignments in the NHL. Couple that with Joel Farabee needing to get back into the lineup which can lead to a short leash. Farabee, scratched for the last three games, will need to show a bit more in his return.
The Flyers haven't needed to ask that from Sam Ersson. Since returning from injury, Ersson has looked the part of the team's starting goaltender. In his last five starts, Ersson is 4-1-0 and has posted a 1.51 GAA and a .939 SV%. The sample size isn't large when facing the Islanders, but the Flyers' goaltender did post a shutout in one of his two outings.
While their streak of multiple power-play goals ended against Columbus, the Flyers man advantage unit is still finding a way to click recently. The Islanders rank 32nd on the penalty kill so if Philadelphia can get that group to continue what's worked for them, they could use that to take over the game.
Flyers Projected Lineup
Owen Tippett - Morgan Frost - Travis Konecny
Tyson Foerster - Noah Cates - Bobby Brink
Joel Farabee - Sean Couturier - Matvei Michkov
Scott Laughton - Ryan Poehling - Garnet Hathaway
Cam York - Travis Sanheim
Egor Zamula - Rasmus Ristolainen
Nick Seeler - Jamie Drysdale
Sam Ersson
New York Islanders
Before a shutout loss to the Senators, the Islanders had gotten wins over some strong teams. They had won three in a row, defeating the Bruins, Knights, and Utah. The win over Vegas was the most surprising as it came in shutout form. The Islanders are far out of the playoff picture at this time, but play quite a few divisional games coming up and could pick up ground fast.
The 34-year-old veteran, Anders Lee, is still contributing at the NHL level. He leads the Islanders with 19 goals and 35 points and should hit the 20-goal mark for the fourth straight season. Bo Horvat is performing well in his third season with the Islanders. He's second in both goals (13) and points (30). It might be hard for him to hit the 30-goal mark for the fourth straight year, but a hot finish could get him there.
Ilya Sorokin will return to the net after missing the last two games due to an illness. As expected, he has appeared in 30 of the Islanders' 42 games this season. He was in the net for the shutout against Vegas, stopping all 30 shots he faced. On the season, Sorokin has a 2.83 GAA and a .902 SV%. The latter is on pace for his worst in the NHL.
Islanders Projected Roster
Anders Lee - Brock Nelson - Mathew Barzal
Maxim Tsyplakov - Bo Horvat - Kyle Palmieri
Anthony Duclair - Jean-Gabriel Pageau - Casey Cizikas
Matt Martin - Kyle MacLean - Pierre Engvall
Adam Pelech - Ryan Pulock
Isaiah George - Noah Dobson
Dennis Cholowski - Scott Mayfield
Ilya Sorokin
When, Where, and How to Watch
Time: 7:30 PM
Where: UBS Arena
Watch: NBCSP
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
Live Stream: FuboTv
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