Photographer: Kate Frese

Game 40 Preview: Flyers and Islanders renew their rivalry

By
Bill Minchin
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Bill Minchin Sports Editor

All posts by Bill Minchin
Sports Editor

Published09 Jan 2016

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Photo Courtesy of Kate Frese.

The Philadelphia Flyers (17-15-7) welcome John Tavares and the New York Islanders (22-14-5) to the Wells Fargo Center Saturday afternoon. This is third of five meetings between the clubs this season. Game time is 1:00.

The Islanders defeated the Flyers 3-1 in New York on November 25th. They followed that up with a 4-3 shootout victory in Philadelphia on December 8th. 

Steve Mason allowed three goals on ten shots before being replaced early in the second period. Michal Neuvirth stopped all 16 shots he faced until the shootout. 

Flyers Leaders GP G A P Islanders Leaders GP G A P
Claude Giroux 39 12 18 30 Kyle Okposo 39 10 21 31
Jake Voracek 32 4 22    26 John Tavares 38 15 14 29
Wayne Simmonds 39 10 12 22 Frans Nielsen 41 14 13 27
Brayden Schenn 37 9 12 21 Brock Nelson 41 14 9 23
Sean Couturier 33 8 10 18 Anders Lee 41 6 13 19
 
Player to Watch
14 S. Couturier 51 F. Nielsen
Last 5 Games: 3G, 3A, 6P, +6 Last 5 Games: 2G, 3A, 5P, +1
 
Sean Couturier has been on a roll since Michael Raffl and Brayden Schenn were put on his line. Couturier had a goal in the Flyers 4-3 overtime win on Thursday in Minnesota and added a goal and an assist in Tuesday's 4-3 victory over Montreal. He has also been able to continue playing sound in his own end as is evident by his +6 rating over the last five games.
 
Frans Nielsen is often overlooked. Nielsen sits third on the roster behind Kyle Okposo and Tavares. His 14 goals are tied for second on the team. Those 14 goals also matches his out put from last year in just 41 games. 
 
Goalie Matchup
35 Steve Mason 41 Jaroslav Halak
8-10-3, 2.84 GAA, .910 SV% 10-7-3, 2.14 GAA, .923 SV%

Steve Mason returned to the net on Thursday night in Minnesota. Mason stopped 31 shots in the 4-3 overtime win. Mason will look to get his record closer to .500 for the year. This is typically the point of the season when Mason starts to play some of his best hockey and he will look to continue that trend.

Jaroslav Halak lost his last start on Thursday against the Capitals. Halak allowed three goals on 37 shots. He has played very well in his career against the Flyers and will look to continue that Saturday.

Flyers Projected Lineup

Scratches: Jordan Weal, Shayne Gostisbehere, Andrew MacDonald

Left Wing Center Right Wing
93 Jake Voracek 28 Claude Giroux 17 Wayne Simmonds
12 Michael Raffl 14 Sean Couturier 10 Brayden Schenn
76 Chris VandeVelde 78 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare 25 Ryan White
24 Matt Read 21 Scott Laughton 20 R.J. Umberger
Defense    
15 Michael Del Zotto 3 Radko Gudas  
32 Mark Streit 55 Nick Schultz  
82 Evgeny Medvedev 23 Brandon Manning  
Goalie    
35 Steve Mason    

Brandon Manning will be back in the lineup tonight replacing the injured Shayne Gostisbehere. The forwards will remain the same.

Game Notes

  • Power Play: Flyers (26th, 26th at home), Islanders (20th, 15th on road) 
  • Penalty Kill: Flyers (25th, 20th at home), Islanders  (2nd, 7th on road)
  • The Flyers are 5-3-2 in their last ten games overall. 
  • Philadelphia is 130-98-26 all time against the Islanders including a 76-38-11 mark at home

Where to Watch
TV: CSN
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic

Bill Minchin is a contributing writer for Flyerdelphia. Follow Bill on Twitter @wtfd103074