Photo Courtesy of Kate Frese
After what seemed like a long five days, the Flyers return to the ice on Thursday, taking on the New York Islanders in Metropolitan Division action.
The big storyline entering Thursday's game is Claude Giroux's bold statement from Monday that the Orange and Black "are a playoff team." He'll have the opportunity to back those words up over the next three games — two of which are against sure-fire playoff contenders in the Islanders and Montreal, while one, Washington, is a bubble team.
The Islanders are a tough team to make that kind of prediction against, as they sit second in the Metro — just a point out of first place — with 65 points and a 32-17-1 record. They've also had the Flyers' number in two of four games this season — winning 1-0 in a shootout on Nov. 24 and 7-4 on Jan. 19.
While the Islanders still sit in second place, they've dropped three consecutive games (scoring just five goals in the process), and are 1-4-0 since the All-Star Break. The Flyers, of course, continue to ride their season-long four-game winning streak.
Captain John Tavares continues to lead the Isles, with 23 goals and 49 points. Impressively, Kyle Okposo is second with 14 goals and 44 points, despite missing the past four games with a detached retina in his eye — an injury that will sideline him for six-to-eight weeks.
The Flyers are still led by the NHL's leader in points, as Jakub Voracek has posted 17 goals and 58 points — holding a two-point lead over Tyler Seguin and Patrick Kane. Giroux sits seventh in the league with 16 goals and 52 points.
As the Isles' starter, Jaroslav Halak has posted a 26-11-0 record with a 2.43 goals allowed average and .911 save percentage. Steve Mason's record stands at 11-12-6 with a 2.32 GAA and .924 SP, and is fresh off his 30-save shutout against Toronto — his second of the season.
Nicklas Grossmann and Scott Laughton will also be welcomed back to the Flyers' lineup. Grossmann missed the past 10 games with an upper-body injury, while Laughton missed the past seven with a concussion.
Game Notes
- Power Play: Flyers (4th, 2nd at home), Islanders (10th, 16th on road)
- Penalty Kill: Flyers (21st, 23rd at home), Islanders (30th, 27th on road)
- The Flyers' home record against the Islanders since 2007 stands at 17-1-2.
Flyers scratches: Braydon Coburn, Zac Rinaldo, Michael Raffl, Carlo Colaiacovo
Flyers Projected Lineup
Line 1: Brayden Schenn-Claude Giroux-Jakub Voracek
Line 2: Ryan White-Scott Laughton-Wayne Simmonds
Line 3: R.J. Umberger-Sean Couturier-Matt Read
Line 4: Chris VandeVelde-Pierre-Edouard Bellemare-Vincent Lecavalier
D-Pair 1: Nick Schultz-Mark Streit
D-Pair 2: Michael Del Zotto -Luke Schenn
D-Pair 3: Nicklas Grossmann-Andrew MacDonald
Goalie: Steve Mason
Where to Watch
TV: CSN Philly
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
Rob Riches is a contributor to Flyerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @Riches61
