Flyers vs. Islanders: Projected lines, odds & trends, and what to watch for

The Philadelphia Flyers return home to the Wells Fargo Center, but their opponent remains the same. They’ll look to win the three-game set against the Islanders on Monday night.

The Flyers took the opening game 4-3 on Thursday night before losing 6-1 on Saturday. Tonight’s game will decide the series.

Things are starting to spiral even further out of control for the Flyers. Tonight’s game kicks off a four-game homestand against the Islanders, Devils, and Rangers (twice).

Projected lines and pairs

Flyers forward lines

Alain Vigneault intended to stick with the same lines for Saturday’s game. However, Sean Couturier being a late scratch shook things up.

Fortunately, Couturier is expected to return tonight.

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

Flyers defensive pairs

The Flyers defense, particularly the Erik Gustafsson – Nate Prosser pair, was horrid on Saturday night. Shayne Gotisbehere will be back in the lineup tonight.

Ivan Provorov – Shayne Gostisbehere
Travis Sanheim – Justin Braun
Erik Gustafsson – Philippe Myers

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Flyers starting goalie

Carter Hart is getting the night off –– completely –– before starting on Tuesday night.

Brian Elliott
Alex Lyon

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 Flyers opened as +105 underdogs to the Islanders’ -125 line. The total is set at 5.5 goals.

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Islanders trends

• Islanders are 10-2 in their last 12 games.
• Islanders are 5-1 in their last six games as a road favorite.
• Islanders are 12-3 in their last 15 games as a favorite.

Flyers trends

• Flyers are 15-2 in their last 17 games following a loss of 3 or more goals.
• Flyers are 7-1 in their last 8 after scoring 2 goals or less in their previous game.
• Flyers are 17-4 in their last 21 after allowing 5 goals or more in their previous game.
• Flyers are 1-4 in their last 5 games playing on 1 day rest.
• Flyers are 1-5 in their last 6 vs. a team with a winning % above .600.
• Flyers are 1-8 in their last 9 games as an underdog.

Head-to-head trends

• Islanders are 1-4 in the last 5 meetings in Philadelphia.
• Islanders are 2-5 in the last 7 meetings.
• Home team is 7-3 in the last 10 meetings.
• Favorite is 57-22 in the last 79 meetings.

What to watch for

1. Flyers need a response … again

The Flyers are running out of chances to turn things around. Just when it looks like they might be onto something, they get blown out in their next game. That is where the Flyers are at right now. They need another response.

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If the Flyers win tonight, they’ll have taken two of three from the Islanders. It could give them some momentum heading into a winnable game against the Devils.

2. Sean Couturier is key

Sean Couturier is a very important piece to the Flyers. They won’t be able to turn it around without him. Luckily, after being a late scratch for Saturday’s game, he should return tonight.

“After talking with him, he feels he should be good for tonight,” Alain Vigneault said.

Couturier is expected to be back on his top line with JVR and Farabee.

3. Shayne Gostisbehere goes from the dog house to the top pair

Shayne Gostisbehere was in the dog house and a healthy scratch for three straight games, even after a 9-0 loss. However, Nate Prosser’s play on Saturday night forced Vigneault’s hand.

Gostisbehere should have returned sooner, but he still needs to clean up his defensive game. Having said that, he is a huge asset on the power play and should be reinserted there as well.

As long as Gostisbehere doesn’t have a disastrous game, he should be able to stick in the lineup over Prosser or Gustafsson.

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

Photo Credit: Heather Barry Images