Gritty Game Ahead, Gm 31: Islanders vs. Flyers, Lines & Notes

The New York Islanders (11-13-6) and the Philadelphia Flyers (13-17-7) face off Monday for the first of back-to-back meetings, starting at UBS Arena. Puck drop is set for 7:30 pm ET.

The New York Islanders dropped their last contest, as they fell 2-0 to the Washington Capitals on Saturday. It was a sloppy effort, one that put an end to a three-game winning streak, a five-game point streak, and a six-game point streak on UBS Arena ice.

“I didn’t I didn’t see systematic issues,” Associate coach Lane Lambert said following Monday morning’s optional skate. ” I just felt like we weren’t very sharp. I didn’t think we executed our passes good enough at times and it slowed our game down.”

The Islanders enter this contest 18 points out of a playoff spot, but the team is not feeling overwhelmed, with the number of games left on their schedule.

“I don’t think it’s overwhelming at all,” Islanders forward Mat Barzal said Monday morning. “I think we know we have a ton of games. There’s fifty or so games left in the season and we’ve also been in situations before where we’ve been down or out of a playoff spot and battled our way back.”

“This team’s got a lot of resilience and a lot of character and just a lot of good men in the locker room. So I think we’re not feeling overwhelmed at all.”

Islanders head coach Barry Trotz was not at the optional morning skate on Monday, as he usually only joins the group for full team practices.

But with Lane Lambert addressing the media, that tells you all you need to know about the status for Monday’s contest. Trotz, along with Ryan Pulock (IR) were placed in COVID-19 protocol on Tuesday, Jan. 11.

There was no update from Lambert on the status of Kyle Palmieri and when he will be activated out of IR.

Following practice, netminder Semyon Varlamov stayed on to work with the extras in Ross Johnston (suspension), Austin Czarnik, and Sebastian Aho.

Although not confirmed, Ilya Sorokin likely gets the nod for the game Monday, with Varlamov getting the start Tuesday in the second of the back-to-back in Philadelphia.

The Philadelphia Flyers enter Monday’s contest having dropped their last seven contests. But their record has no bearing on the Islanders’ game plan.

“We’re not really concerned about how many they’ve (Flyers) lost in a row.” Lambert said. “We’re just concerned about playing our game and regardless of what their record is, we just have to come out and play right from the first minute all the way through.”

On Monday morning, Giana Han of Inquirer reported that Martin Jones (6-5-2, 3.33 GAA, .909 SV%) will man the crease for the visiting Flyers.

NEW YORK ISLANDERS LINES (PROJECTED)

Anders Lee — Mathew Barzal — Josh Bailey

Anthony Beauvillier — Brock Nelson— Oliver Wahlstrom

Kieffer Bellows— Jean-Gabriel Pageau — Zach Parise

Matt Martin — Casey Cizikas — Cal Clutterbuck

Adam Pelech — Scott Mayfield

Zdeno Chara— Noah Dobson

Robin Salo — Andy Greene

Semyon Varlamov

Ilya Sorokin

PHILADELPHIA FLYERS LINES (PROJECTED)

Joel Farabee — Claude Giroux — Cam Atkinson

James Van Riemsdyk— Kevin Hayes — Gerald Mayhew

Oskar Lindblom— Scott Laughton —Travis Konecny

Jackson Cates— Morgan Fost— Zack Macewen

Ivan Provorov— Justin Braun

Cam York — Travis Sanheim

Keith Yandle — Nick Seeler

Martin Jones

Carter Hart

GAME NOTES

Tonight, the New York Islanders host the Philadelphia Flyers in the first of four matchups between the two clubs this season.

The Islanders will play back-to-back games against the same team for the first time this season, as their game scheduled for November 30, 2021 in Philadelphia was postponed and rescheduled for tomorrow.

The last time these two teams met was April 18, 2021, in Philadelphia, when the Islanders shut out the Flyers in a 1-0 overtime win. Tonight, the Islanders play their seventh consecutive game at UBS Arena. They are 4-1-1 in their last six home games.

BETTING CORNER

On home ice, the Islanders are the favorites in the contest against the Flyers. They come in at -192 and at +146 on the puck line. The Flyers are +114 money line and are at -180 at +1.5. The over is set at 5.5 with +112 odds with the under at -134.

Odds are subject to change before 7:30 puck drop. If you have a gambling problem seek help and please call 1-800-GAMBLERS.

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HOW TO WATCH

The game will air on MSG+ (local) and on MSG GO. On the radio dial, the game can be heard on 1050 AM ESPN, 88.7 FM WRHU and 103.9 FM LI News Radio.