Philadelphia Flyers

Flyers-Islanders preview: Can Philly avoid infamy?

Published

2 years ago

January 25, 2022

Defenseman Cam York and the Philadelphia Flyers will attempt to snap a 12-game winless streak Tuesday against the New York Islanders.

For the third time in the last 10 nights, the Flyers will meet the New York Islanders on Tuesday.

The Flyers are hoping for a different outcome this time, their second visit to brand-new UBS Arena.

The Isles defeated the Flyers, 4-1, and 4-3 in a shootout in the two other matchups.

Islanders coach Barry Trotz likes facing teams several times in a short stretch.

“The great thing about playing a team that much is that you know them and don’t have to spend a lot of time learning what they do,” Trotz said.

The Flyers have been outscored by a 46-23 margin during their current 12-game winless streak. Still, Trotz, with a straight face, said the Flyers were a tough opponent. It’s coachspeak for telling his team not to get complacent.

“They’re going to be a dangerous team,” said Trotz, ignoring the fact that the Flyers are one loss away from breaking a dubious franchise record for consecutive winless games. “The dangerous part is if we let our guard down.”

New York (14-14-6) is well-rested; it hasn’t played since Saturday’s 3-1 loss to Toronto.

The Flyers (13-21-8) are playing on back-to-back nights and are coming off Monday’s 3-1 loss to Dallas, which equaled a franchise record: 12 consecutive winless games (0-9-3). Philly has allowed the first goal in 10 of the last 11 games.

The Islanders, after a slow start in which the team played 13 straight games on the road because their new arena wasn’t ready, have steadied themselves. They have points in eight of their last 10 games (7-2-1), and have allowed just 1.8 goals per game in that span.

Storylines

Flyers defenseman Keith Yandle will break the NHL record by playing in his 965th consecutive game, a streak that started in 2009, when he was with the Coyotes.

Another storyline: How will Flyers winger Linus Sandin fare in his NHL debut?

Will the Islanders, led by their solid defense, continue their winning ways and somehow climb into the playoff race?

Flyers’ projected lineup

Line 1: Claude Giroux centering Oskar Lindblom and Travis Konecny.

Line 2: Scott Laughton centering James van Riemsdyk and Cam Atkinson. (Laughton and Giroux changed lines.)

Line 3: Morgan Frost centering Gerry Mayhew and Max Willman.

Line 4: Connor Bunnman centering Sandin and Zack MacEwen.

Defense: Ivan Provorov and Justin Braun; Travis Sanheim and Rasmus Ristolainen; Yandle and Cam York.

Goalie: Martin Jones.

Numbers Dept.

The Islanders are fifth in the NHL in goals allowed per game (2.59), while the Flyers are 24th (3.33). Both teams struggle offensively. The Flyers are 27th (2.45) in goals scored per game, and the Isles are 29th (2.31).

Bet the under.

Who’s hot?

Konecny has 14 assists over his last 18 games.

For New York, defenseman Adam Pelech has five assists and a plus-6 rating over his last six games.

Projected goalie matchup

Jones (6-7-2) will be trying to bounce back from a 6-3 loss in Buffalo, a game in which he was pulled after allowing four goals on eight shots in the first 18 minutes. Overall, he has 3.52 GAA and .902 save percentage

Ilya Sorokin (11-7-5) is expected to get the call for the Islanders, and he is having a superb season, compiling a 2.26 GAA and .928 save percentage.