After snapping a seven-game losing streak, the New York Islanders (6-6-5) kickoff their Thanksgiving week with the first of bookend games against the Philadelphia Flyers (10-7-1).
EAST MEADOW, NY -- After snapping a seven-game losing streak, the New York Islanders (6-6-5) kickoff their Thanksgiving week with the first of bookend games against the Philadelphia Flyers (10-7-1).
Puck drop from UBS Arena is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
The Islanders salvaged the final game of their four-game road trip in Western Canada on Saturday against the Calgary Flames. After Martin Pospisil opened the scoring in the first, the Islanders responded with consecutive goals from Hudson Fasching, Kyle Palmieri, and Mathew Barzal.
Tallies from Blake Coleman in the second and MacKenzie Weegar in the third got Calgary even early, but Brock Nelson got the Islanders back in front 20 seconds later. Yegor Sharangovich forced the game to overtime, which gave way to a shootout. After Sharangovich and Bo Horvat traded goals in the skills contest, Oliver Wahlstrom sniped one past Jacob Markstrom, ending a 5-4 Islander win.
Tonight’s game is historic for Islanders’ forward Cal Clutterbuck. He will skate in his 1,000th NHL game tonight, becoming the 383rd player to accomplish the milestone.
Morning Skate Updates
The Islanders held a morning skate on Wednesday morning.
Ilya Sorokin was in the starter’s crease for New York, he will make his 12th start of the season tonight (4-3-4, 3.32 GAA GAA, .906 SV%).
Julien Gauthier (illness) returned to practice on Tuesday and served as an extra, while Matt Martin (upper-body injury) was still absent. Martin did not attend the morning skate and has been ruled out.
The Flyers skated at UBS Arena this morning.
Carter Hart left the ice first for the Flyers, he’ll make his 11th start of the season tonight (6-3-1, 2.40 GAA, .919 SV%).
Philadelphia got good news on a pair of defensemen on Tuesday. Marc Staal was activated off the injured reserve, and Rasmus Ristolainen was cleared for contact.
Staal will play in his first game since Oct. 18.
New York Islanders Lines (Projected):
Mathew Barzal - Bo Horvat - Simon Holmstrom
Pierre Engvall - Brock Nelson - Kyle Palmieri
Anders Lee - Jean-Gabriel Pageau - Oliver Wahlstrom
Hudson Fasching - Casey Cizikas - Cal Clutterbuck
Adam Pelech - Noah Dobson
Alexander Romanov - Ryan Pulock
Sebastian Aho - Scott Mayfield
Ilya Sorokin
Semyon Varlamov
Philadelphia Flyers Lines (Projected)
Tyson Foerster - Sean Couturier - Travis Konecny
Owen Tippett - Scott Laughton - Cam Atkinson
Joel Farabee - Ryan Poehling - Bobby Brink
Nicolas Deslauriers - Noah Cates - Garnet Hathaway
Cam York - Travis Sanheim
Nick Seeler - Sean Walker
Egor Zamula - Marc Staal
Carter Hart
Samuel Ersson
Islanders Notes
The Islanders went 3-1-0 against the Flyers last season. Their last meeting was a 4-0 shutout victory at UBS Arena on April 8. Four different Islanders lit the lamp, with Ilya Sorokin earning a 27-save shutout.
Barzal and Horvat each had strong showings on last week’s road trip. Barzal is on a four-game point streak, notching a pair of goals and four assists during the trip. Horvat has a five-game point streak, boasting a goal and four assists in that span.
Kyle Palmieri has the most career goals against the Flyers lifetime with 13. Barzal leads all active Islanders in points against Philadelphia with 27.
Varlamov will make his ninth career start against the Flyers tonight. He has a 3-3-2 record lifetime against Philadelphia with a 2.65 GAA and .919 SV%.
Flyers Notes
The Flyers have been a surprise in the early stages of this season. Philadelphia enters tonight’s game in second place in the Metropolitan Division with 25 points and a five-game winning streak.
The streak grew after a 5-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets as five different players found the back of the net. After Joel Farabee and Alexandre Texier traded goals in the first period, Bobby Brink and Ryan Poehling put the Flyers ahead in the second. Travis Konecny and Cam York added insurance, finishing off the victory.
Cam Atkinson is Philadelphia’s leading goal scorer against the Islanders, boasting 14 in his career. The former Blue Jacket sits in a tie with Sean Couturier for most points lifetime against New York with 28.
Couturier and Owen Tippett had four-game point streaks snapped on Sunday. Couturier tallied a pair of goals and assists in that span, while Tippett totaled seven points during his hot stretch. Defenseman Sean Walker is currently riding a four-game point streak of his own, tallying a goal and five helpers during the streak.
Hart will make his 13th start against the Islanders in his career and has mixed results against them lifetime. He holds a 4-5-3 record, 2.99 GAA, and .899 SV% in games against the Islanders entering tonight.
Betting Corner
Do you think the Islanders will beat the Flyers? The home team comes in as the favorite, sitting at -155 on the money line to the Flyers’ +125. The over/under enters at six goals, the over at -105, and the under at -115.
How To Watch
Tonight’s game will be available on MSGSN. On the radio, the contest will be available on 88.7 FM WRHU, 103.9 LI News Radio, and 1050 AM ESPN Radio.
Matthew Page contributed to this report.