GAME NOTES
THE SERIES:
Game 1: NYI 4, PHI 0 Game 2 : NYI 3, PHI 4 (OT) Game 3: PHI 1, NYI 3 Game 4: PHI 2, NYI 3 Game 5: NYI 3, PHI 4 (OT) Game 6: NYI 4, PHI 5 (2-OT)LEADERS:PHI - 13pts: Kevin Hayes (4g-9a)NYI - 15pts: Josh Bailey (2g-13a)
1. FLYERS IN SEVEN
This is the Flyers 17th all-time Game 7 and first since the 2014 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals vs. NY Rangers, a 2-1 loss to Alain Vigneault's team... This is also the third Game 7 in Flyers-Islanders history, with the Flyers winning the previous two (1975 & 1987)... All-time, the Flyers are 9-7 all-time in Game 7 and with a win they would tie for the most Game 7 wins of any non-original six team (10: STL & PIT)... Of the 16 previous Game 7's, the Flyers have had seven decided by one goal and two decided in overtime.
2. ISLES IN SEVEN
This is the ninth Game 7 in Islanders history and first since the 2015 First Round vs. Washington, a 2-1 loss to Barry Trotz' Capitals... They are 3-5 all-time in Game 7's and they will be looking for their first Game 7 win since 1993, which was the series in which they last advanced to the Conference Finals... Of their previous eight Game 7's, five have been decided by one goal, with three being decided in overtime, one of which is the longest Game 7 in NHL history - a four-overtime win (4-3) over Washington in 1987.
3. NOT MY FIRST FLYERS RODEO
The Flyers have 10 players on their active game roster who have appeared in a Game 7 for a combined 31 games in the NHL... Four of those players were in the last Flyers Game 7 in 2014 vs. NYR (Couturier, Giroux, Raffl & Voracek) and two were on the 2010 team which came back from an 0-3 deficit vs. BOS (Giroux, van Riemsdyk)... Matt Niskanen leads the Flyers roster with the most Game 7 appearances (7), while James van Riemsdyk leads the Flyers with four points (2g-2a) in four Game 7's in his history... Behind the bench, head coach Alain Vigneault has coached in seven Game 7's - he is 5-2 all-time... This is Carter Hart's first Game 7, including his junior career in the WHL.
4. NOT MY FIRST ISLES RODEO
The Islanders have 15 players who have appeared in an NHL Game 7, including seven players who played in the last Isles Game 7 in 2015... The Isles are led by defenseman Johnny Boychuk, who has appeared in eight Game 7's but he has not appeared in this series... Semyon Varlamov has appeared in four Game 7's, going 1-3 and posting a 3.51 goals-against average and .857 save percentage... On the coaching side, this is Barry Trotz's fifth Game 7, having gone 2-2 in his previous four, including a loss in 2015 when leading a series 3 games to 1 to Alain Vigneault's NY Rangers.
5. PLAYERS TO WATCH
FLYERS (D: #9 - Ivan Provorov)
Thursday's hero with his double overtime goal to force Game 7, Provorov logged over 38 minutes of ice time on 52 shifts - the most of any player in the game... He ranks second among all players in the Second Round for average ice time at 27:19... Provorov also has four points (2g-2a) in his last three games and is a +4.
ISLANDERS (C: #13 - Mathew Barzal)
Barzal has points in back-to-back games and in five of the six games of the series with a goal and five assists for six points to lead the Islanders... He leads the Islanders in ice-time in the playoffs (19:21) and in the Second round (20:18)... He will be playing in his first Game 7 of his career, including his junior career in the WHL.
