Flyers at Islanders: Projected lines, odds and trends, and what to watch for

The Philadelphia Flyers kick off the second half of their season with another game against the Islanders. It’s the second of three straight against the Isles. The Flyers won Thursday night and will play again tonight on Long Island, with the two teams playing in Philadelphia on Monday night.

GIF Rewind: Oskar Lindblom as strong as ever in win over Islanders

The Flyers are looking for another win and to build off Thursday’s effort. They bounced back from their worst loss in many years and snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.

Projected lines and pairs

Flyers forward lines

Alain Vigneault has been mixing up the lines and pairs recently, but he’s sticking with the same lineup tonight.

James van Riemsdyk – Sean Couturier – Joel Farabee
Scott Laughton – Kevin Hayes – Travis Konecny
Oskar Lindblom – Claude Giroux – Jakub Voracek
Carsen Twarynski – Nolan Patrick – Nicolas Aube-Kubel

Flyers defensive pairs

On defense, Shayne Gostisbehere will be a healthy scratch for the third straight game.

Ivan Provorov – Justin Braun
Travis Sanheim – Philippe Myers
Erik Gustafsson – Nate Prosser

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Flyers starting goalie

Carter Hart played well for most of Thursday’s game and will start again tonight.

Carter Hart
Brian Elliott

Follow us on Twitter (@PhillyHockeyNow) and keep an eye out for lineup updates as we get closer to game time.

Betting odds and trends

*via Covers

• The Islanders are favored at -140 over the Flyers at +120. The total is set at 5.5 goals.

Get In The Game With Online Sports Betting

• Flyers are 0-4 in their last 4 games following a win.
• Flyers are 1-7 in their last 8 games as an underdog.
• Islanders are 6-0 in their last 6 in the fourth game of a 4-in-6 situation
• Islanders are 6-1 in their last 7 home games.
• Islanders are 9-2 in their last 11 overall.
• Flyers are 5-1 in the last 6 meetings.

• Over is 4-0 in Flyers last 4 games following a win.
• Over is 9-1-1 in Flyers last 11 in the third game of a 3-in-4 days situation.
• Over is 12-3-1 in Flyers last 16 vs. a team with a winning record.
• Over is 8-1-2 in Islanders last 11 games as a home favorite.
• Over is 10-2-1 in Islanders last 13 home games.
• Over is 5-1-1 in the last 7 meetings in New York
• Over is 16-5-1 in the last 22 meetings.

Based on the trends, the Islanders and the over seem like the best bets for tonight’s game.

What to watch for

1. Flyers looking for first back-to-back wins this month

The Flyers responded to Wednesday night’s loss with a win on Thursday, but they haven’t been able to string together two wins this month. The Flyers won three straight to end February.

Panic in Philadelphia? Three big questions facing the Flyers

The Flyers beat the Islanders in both meetings to end January, and they’ll look to do that again tonight.

2. Oskar Lindblom back on his game?

Oskar Lindblom was a healthy scratch for the Flyers’ 9-0 loss on Wednesday night. It gave him a chance to reset and rest physically and mentally.

Oskar Lindblom’s hard work pays off, two-goal game could be building block for Flyers

On Thursday night, Lindblom was given the opportunity to play on a line with Claude Giroux and Travis Konecny and it paid off immediately. Lindblom scored two goals, including the game-winner, and deserved an assist on another.

If Lindblom is able to pick it up in the second half of the season, the Flyers’ forward depth might start finally coming around.

3. Need to play a full 60 minutes

It’s a cliche, but the Flyers could use a cliche or two right now.

The Flyers had a relatively even first period before dominating the second period on Thursday night. However, it all fell apart in the middle of the third period and the Islanders scored three straight to tie the game.

Flyers Film: What went wrong on Islanders’ three goals in third period?

There have been several comebacks and late-game heroics by the Islanders against the Flyers in recent history, and that needs to be avoided at all costs. If the Flyers play their game, they can take another from the Islanders.

The Flyers and Islanders are set for a 7:00 p.m. puck drop on Saturday night.

Photo Credit: Heather Barry Images