Flyers-Islanders: Game 80 Preview

Team Leaders

Philadelphia Flyers	GP	G	A	P	New York Islanders	GP	G	A	P
Claude Giroux	79	29	66	95	John Tavares	79	34	47	81
Jake Voracek	79	19	63	82	Mathew Barzal	79	20	59	79
Sean Couturier	79	31	40	71	Josh Bailey	73	18	51	69
Shayne Gostisbehere	75	13	47	60	Anders Lee	79	39	22	61
Travis Konecny	78	24	23	47	Jordan Eberle	78	25	32	57

 

Player to Watch
11 Travis Konecny	13 Mathew Barzal
Last 5 Games: 4 G, 1 A, 5 P, +2	Last 5 Games: 0 G, 3 A, 3 P, -4

 

The highlight-reel, goal of the year candidate aside, Travis Konecny has been one hot player since January. In the first 38 games of the season from October through December, Konecny had four goals and nine assists, just 13 points. In 40 games since, Konecny has 20 goals and 14 assists for 34 points. Now, he is just one goal shy of a 25-goal season, and that may be just scratching the surface on Konecny's potential.

 

The Islanders rookie sensation Mathew Barzal may not be getting to the playoffs, but he is putting the finishing touches on what is likely going to be a Calder-winning season. As the season reaches its conclusion, Barzal has hit a bit of a wall with just two goals since March. 

 

Goalie Matchup
34 Petr Mrazek	1 Thomas Greiss
14-12-6, 2.97 GAA, .903 SV%	11-8-2, 3.85 GAA, .891 SV%

With a playoff spot on the line, the Flyers will turn to the goalie they acquired to finish off the playoff run. Petr Mrazek was solid in Sunday's win despite allowing three goals, making 36 saves. He'll get the start on Tuesday night.

The Islanders are going with Thomas Greiss in goal. Greiss made his last start on March 31, allowing four goals on 35 shots in a loss to New Jersey. It was his first start since Feb. 16. Greiss missed six weeks with a lower-body injury.

Flyers Projected Lineup

Injuries: Brian Elliott, Michal Neuvirth

Scratches: Dale Weise, Scott Laughton, Taylor Leier, Robert Hagg, Johnny Oduya

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
28 Claude Giroux	14 Sean Couturier	11 Travis Konecny
54 Oskar Lindblom	19 Nolan Patrick	93 Jake Voracek
40 Jordan Weal	51 Valtteri Filppula	17 Wayne Simmonds
12 Michael Raffl	15 Jori Lehtera	24 Matt Read
Defense
9 Ivan Provorov	53 Shayne Gostisbehere
6 Travis Sanheim	47 Andrew MacDonald
23 Brandon Manning	3 Radko Gudas
Goalie
34 Petr Mrazek

Lineup Notes

Michael Raffl returns to the lineup and replaces Scott Laughton on the fourth line. The rest of the lineup remains the same.

Islanders Projected Lineup

Injuries: Calvin de Haan, Shane Prince, Nikolay Kulemin, Alan Quine

Scratches: Casey Cizikas, Dennis Seidenberg, Brandon Davidson

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
27 Anders Lee	91 John Tavares	12 Josh Bailey
72 Anthony Beauvillier	13 Mathew Barzal	7 Jordan Eberle
16 Andrew Ladd	29 Brock Nelson	56 Tanner Fritz
52 Ross Johnston	21 Chris Wagner	15 Cal Clutterbuck
Defense
2 Nick Leddy	55 Johnny Boychuk
14 Thomas Hickey	6 Ryan Pulock
42 Scott Mayfield	50 Adam Pelech
Goalie
1 Thomas Greiss

Game Notes

• Power Play: Flyers (18th, 5th on road), Islanders (6th, 4th at home)
• Penalty Kill: Flyers (T-28th, 22nd on road), Islanders (31st, 27th at home) 
• Recent History vs. Islanders
  • Nov. 22, 2017 – Islanders 4, Flyers 3 (F/OT) (at NYI)
  • Nov. 24, 2017 – Islanders 5, Flyers 4 (F/OT) (at PHI)
  • Jan. 4, 2018 – Flyers 6, Islanders 4 (at PHI)
• Flyers Leaders vs. Islanders
  • Claude Giroux – 44 GP, 16 G, 31 A, 47 P
  • Jake Voracek – 35 GP, 5 G, 23 A, 28 P
  • Sean Couturier – 29 GP, 6 G, 15 A, 21 P
  • Petr Mrazek – 11 GP, 6-3-1, 3.20 GAA
• Milestone Watch
  • Jake Voracek needs four assists to reach 400 in the NHL.
  • Valtteri Filppula needs five assists to reach 300 in the NHL.

Where to Watch
TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia+
Radio: 93.3 WMMR