Game 82 Preview: Flyers end regular season against New York Islanders

Flyers Leaders	GP	G	A	P	Islanders Leaders	GP	G	A	P
Claude Giroux	78	22	45	67	John Tavares	78	33	37	70
Wayne Simmonds	81	32	28	60	Kyle Okposo	79	22	42	64
Brayden Schenn	79	26	31	57	Frans Nielsen	81	20	32	52
Jakub Voracek	72	11	43	54	Nick Leddy	81	5	35	40
Shayne Gostisbehere	63	16	29	45	Brock Nelson	80	26	14	40

 

Player to Watch
14 Sean Couturier	91 John Tavares
Last 5 Games: 1 G, 2 A, 3 P, -1	Last 5 Games: 4 G, 5 A, 9 P, +6

 

With Giroux scratched, Sean Couturier will accept a new role as the top-line center — a role he hasn't had familiarity with throughout his Flyers career. He won't be there for long, and his skill set as a two-way forward is very well-documented, so it would be worth seeing how creative he can be offensively in this assignment.

 

With goals in each of his last four games, John Tavares has been on a scoring tear to close out the season. The Orange and Black have done fairly well in shutting him down this season, though, as he's been held to just one assist in four games against them this season.

 

Goalie Matchup
30 Michal Neuvirth	1 Thomas Greiss
17-8-4, 2.28 GAA, .925 SP	23-11-4, 2.33 GAA, .926 SP

Michal Neuvirth will make his return to his crease, after missing the past three weeks with a lower-body injury. He will get one last game to tune up and work out any kinks before the playoffs begin.

For the Islanders, Thomas Greiss will start between the pipes, as Jaroslav Halak and Jean-Francois Berube are still hurt. Greiss, a career backup, will carry the load for the Isles into the start of the playoffs.

Flyers Projected Lineup

Scratches: Michael Del Zotto, Claude Giroux, Wayne Simmonds, Jakub Voracek, Mark Streit

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
10 Brayden Schenn	14 Sean Couturier	89 Sam Gagner
21 Scott Laughton	52 Nick Cousins	24 Matt Read
12 Michael Raffl	19 Jordan Weal	20 R.J. Umberger
76 Chris VandeVelde	78 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare	25 Ryan White
Defense
47 Andrew MacDonald	53 Shayne Gostisbehere
55 Nick Schultz	82 Evgeny Medvedev
23 Brandon Manning	3 Radko Gudas
Goalie
30 Michal Neuvirth

Because the Orange and Black have nothing to play for, expect players like Claude Giroux, Jakub Voracek, Mark Streit and Wayne Simmonds to get some added rest. Jordan Weal is also expected to return to the lineup for his fourth game as a Flyer, and first since Feb. 13.

Game Notes

• Power Play: Flyers (18th, 15th on road), Islanders (13th, 13th at home)
• Penalty Kill: Flyers (23rd, 14th on road), Islanders (3rd, 1st at home)
• Recent History vs. Islanders:
  • March 21, 2016 — The Flyers started off slugglishly, but managed a 4-1 win. Nick Cousins, Sam Gagner and Claude Giroux scored, while Brandon Manning recorded his first NHL goal. Steve Mason saved 23 of 24 pucks, and Kyle Okposo recorded the lone Islanders goal.
  • Jan. 9, 2016 — Matt Read recorded a three-point game (scoring a goal and two assists), while Michael Raffl, Evgeni Medvedev and Sean Couturier scored in a 4-0 rout of the Isles. Steve Mason turned away all 20 shots he faced, for his third shutout of the season.
  • Dec. 8, 2016 — The Islanders had led 3-1 at the start of the second period with goals from Frans Nielsen (two) and Brock Nelson, but goals from Ryan White in the second stanza and Claude Giroux in the third sent the game to overtime. The Isles ultimately won in a shootout, with Nielsen and Kyle Okposo capitalizing. Steve Mason stopped seven of 10 shots before being pulled in favor of Michal Neuvirth, who saved all 16 shots he faced.

Where to Watch:
TV: NBCSN
Radio: 93.3 WMMR

Rob Riches is a contributor to Flyerdelphia and Sports Talk Philly. Follow him on Twitter @Riches61.