Game Preview: Islanders vs Flyers

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (8-6-5) VS PHILADELPHIA FLYERS (10-9-1)

7:30 PM | UBS ARENA | BUY TICKETS

WATCH: MSGSN | MSG+ | ESPN+

LISTEN: 88.7FM | 103.9FM | 98.7FM

The New York Islanders return home to take on the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday at UBS Arena in the second half of a back-to-back set.

The Islanders earned their third consecutive win on Friday night with a 5-3 win over the Ottawa Senators, while extending their point streak to five games (3-0-2) in the process. Kyle Palmieri (1G, 1A), Oliver Wahlstrom (1G, 1A), Mathew Barzal (PPG), Anders Lee and Simon Holmstrom powered the offense for the Islanders, while Alexander Romanov and Brock Nelson had a two-point nights with two assists each. Tim Stützle scored and Drake Batherson netted a pair of goals for the Senators. Semyon Varlamov made 28 saves between the pipes in the win, while Anton Forsberg made 21 saves in the loss.

The Flyers are on a two-game losing streak after dropping a 3-1 decision to the New York Rangers in a Black Friday matinee matchup. Sean Couturier scored with a deflection in the middle frame, but Chris Kreider scored for the Rangers and Mika Zibanejad had a two-goal performance. Carter Hart made 16 saves in the loss.

The Flyers’ two-game skid started with a 3-2 loss against the Islanders on Wednesday night at UBS Arena. Brock Nelson scored a pair of goals, while Anders Lee found the back of the net in the win.

Despite both being tied with 21 points, the Islanders rank fourth in the Metropolitan Division, as they have one game in-hand on the Flyers. The Islanders are 5-0-0 against the Flyers at UBS Arena and are 12-2-0 in their last 14 games against Philly overall.

PELECH PLACED ON LTIR

The New York Islanders got bad news on the injury front on Saturday, as defenseman Adam Pelech was placed on Long Term Injured Reserve (LTIR) with an upper-body injury.

Pelech suffered the injury in the first period of Friday's 5-3 win over the Ottawa Senators and did not return.

Pelech's LTIR designation means the blueliner will miss at least 10 games and 24 calendar days, meaning the earliest Pelech could return would be Dec. 19 against Edmonton.

The defenseman logged 28 blocked shots, 15 hits, three assists and a team-high plus-six rating in 16 games this season, while averaging 19:38 TOI/GP.

MARTIN PLACED ON IR

Matt Martin was placed on IR with an upper-body injury, retroactive to Nov. 15, on Saturday afternoon. Martin's injury had kept him out of the Islanders' lineup for the past four games.

Martin has two points (1G, 1A) in 14 games this season along with 31 hits.

ISLANDERS NOTES

- The Islanders found themselves down two defensemen early into the first period, with Adam Pelech and Sebastian Aho leaving the game within the first four minutes and not returning. Head Coach Lane Lambert did not have an update on their status postgame, but offered praise to the four defensemen who stepped up and got the job done.

“It was an incredible effort,” Lambert said. “We knew what we were up against real early in the game. They tried to keep it as simple as possible and manage their ice time as much as possible. It was an incredible effort by the four of them.”

Alexander Romanov reached a career-high 30:02 TOI and recorded his first multi-point game of the season (2A).

Noah Dobson also shattered a career high in ice time, skating 31:05 on Friday night, which exceeds his previous career high of 27:42 in a game also against the Senators on Oct. 26. Dobson recorded the most ice time on Friday of any Islander since Andrew MacDonald logged 31:22 TOI on Jan. 31, 2013.

- Semyon Varlamov turned aside 28 of 31 shots on Friday, picking up his first win since Nov. 2. Ilya Sorokin is the expected to face the Flyers on Saturday as the Islanders complete a back-to-back set. Sorokin is 9-2-1 lifetime against the Flyers with a 1.63 GAA, a .944 SV% and two shutouts. 

- Mathew Barzal scored at 9:51 of the middle frame with Anders Lee followed up with a goal six seconds later. Per NHL PR, the Islanders tied their franchise record for fastest two goals against a goaltender (excluding empty-netters).

- Lee is continuing his offensive hot streak, potting his third goal in a four-game span.

- The Islanders had a strong third period on Friday night, keeping the Senators off the board and completing the final 20 minutes with a +1 goal differential, courtesy of Simon Holmstrom’s tally to make it 5-3.

- Cal Clutterbuck skated in his 1000th NHL game against the Flyers and his silver stick ceremony is scheduled for Saturday, also against the Flyers. The veteran winger recorded 14 points (7G, 7A) in 43 career games against Philly.

- The Islanders will wear their third jerseys for the first time this season. The Isles will wear their thirds 10 times this season.

FLYERS NOTES

- With Carter Hart's start on Friday against the Rangers, Samuel Ersson is the expected starter against the Islanders. The 24-year-old netminder sports a .863 SV% and a 3.22 GAA through seven starts this season. He has 19 career NHL starts and has yet to face the Islanders.

- Travis Sanheim leads the Flyers with 16 points (2G, 14), while Travis Konecny is the top goal scorer for Philly with 11 goals this season.

- The Flyers are winless (0-8-1) in matchups where they surrendered the game’s first goal. On the other hand, Philadelphia is 10-1-0 when scoring first.

- Sean Couturier netted with the lone goal for the Flyers in Friday’s 3-1 loss. The 30-year-old forward has 14 points (5G, 14A) in 18 games this season after missing significant time – nearly two years – due to an ongoing lower back injury that required surgery in February and October of 2022.

- The Flyers’ power play went 0-for-6 on Friday and ranks 30th in the NHL (10.3%).

- After the matchup against Islanders on Saturday, the Flyers will not face the Isles until Apr. 1 when the season series concludes.