Islanders Gm 53: The Debut of Bo Horvat, 2 Players Returning?

PHILADELPHIA — The New York Islanders (25-22-5) come out of the All-Star break with a new toy, as Bo Horvat gets set to make his debut with the club Monday night against the Philadelphia Flyers (21-21-9). Puck drop is slated for 7 PM ET at Wells Fargo Center.

“It’s scary. I’m nervous. A lot of butterflies tonight,” Bo Horvat said. “There’d be something wrong if I wasn’t, so, I’m really looking forward to it, and I just can’t wait to get the first shift out of the way.”

This is the first of a back-to-back for the Islanders, who host the Seattle Kraken Tuesday night at UBS Arena. The Islanders enter on a two-game winning streak.

MORNING SKATE UPDATES

Semyon Varlamov was in the starter’s crease as he will make consecutive starts after stopping 45 of 46 in a 2-1 over the Vegas Golden Knights in the final game before the All-Star break.

That means Ilya Sorokin gets the nod against the Seattle Kraken Tuesday night.

Defenseman Noah Dobson and forward Hudson Fasching took part in the skate, and head coach Lane Lambert said both are game-time decisions.

Fasching has been activated off IR, per the team media site. No other moves need to be made for him to play. Dobson was never placed on IR.

Samuel Bolduc, Parker Wotherspoon, and Ross Johnston were your extras.

NEW YORK ISLANDERS LINES (PROJECTED)

Josh Bailey-Bo Horvat-Mathew Barzal
Anders Lee-Brock Nelson-Kyle Palmieri
Zach Parise-Jean-Gabriel Pageau-Simon Holmstrom
Matt Martin-Casey Cizikas-Hudson Fasching

Adam Pelech-Ryan Pulock
Alexander Romanov-Scott Mayfield
Sebastian Aho-Noah Dobson

Semyon Varlamov
Ilya Sorokin

PHILADELPHIA FLYERS LINES (PROJECTED)

Joel Farabee-Noah Cates-Travis Konecny
JVR-Morgan Frost-Owen Tippett
Kevin Hayes-Scott Laughton-Wade Allison
Nic Deslauriers-Patrick Brown-Kieffer Bellows

Ivan Provorov-Cameron York
Travis Sanheim-Tony DeAngelo
Nick Seeler-Rasmus Ristolainen

Carter Hart
Felix Sandstrom

*Per Sam Carchidi of Philly Hockey Now

ISLANDERS NOTES

Tonight, the New York Islanders return from their bye week and All-Star break as they visit the Philadelphia Flyers for the third of four matchups between the two clubs this season.

The last time these teams met was November 29, 2022, and the two clubs have split their season series thus far. The Islanders have collected points in three of their last four Metropolitan Division matchups.

They have also won each of their last two games and begin their 11th back-to-back series of the season tonight.

DRAFTKINGS BETTING CORNER

Do you think the New York Islanders will beat the Philadelphia Flyers? You can get the Islanders at -130 & +195 on the puck line. The Philadelphia Flyers come in at +110 & -230 on the reverse puck line.

The over for the contest is 5.5 at -115, with the under at -105.

Head over to DraftKings to place your bets now!

HOW TO WATCH

Monday’s contest will be available on MSGN2. On the radio dial, the game can be heard on 1050 AM ESPN, 88.7 FM WRHU, and 103.9 FM LI News Radio.