TAKE TWO: Islanders Lineup, Matchups and game Notes vs. Flyers

The Islanders picked up a point on Saturday and now they’ll need to pick up two tonight in their rematch with the Philadelphia Flyers at Wells Fargo Center.

Tonight is the final game of a five-game road trip that the Islanders embarked on that began last Sunday in New Jersey. The Islanders have not faired well only picking up one out of a possible eight points so far. And they have dropped down seventh in the ultra-competitive East Division, though they only sit four points out of a playoff spot.

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Islanders head coach Barry Trotz went with the same lineup on Saturday that he had on the ice Thursday in Washington D.C., but he indicated last night that there would be changes to the Islanders lineup for today. Ilya Sorokin is expected to get a chance in net after Trotz told the media earlier this week that it was likely that we’d see him play over the weekend.

Who is Barry Trotz starting in goal tonight?

"You should know better than to ask me about my goalies" 😂 pic.twitter.com/u40DzcfUve

— Islanders Videos (@SNY_Islanders) January 31, 2021

The Athletic’s Arthur Staple reported earlier in the day that Kieffer Bellows, Oliver Wahlstrom and Leo Komarov had been sent to the taxi squad. Sorokin, Austin Czarnik and Dymtro Timashov were moved to the NHL roster.

Sorokin had been placed on the taxi squad to make room for both Kieffer Bellows and Oliver Wahlstrom to be in the Islanders lineup. Bellows and Wahlstrom can both be placed on the taxi squad without having to clear waivers.

Leo Komarov, who has taken the ire of Islanders fans as of late for several crucial mistakes, already cleared waivers.

“Continued energy. I think if we can build on the last two periods,” Trotz said when asked what he was looking for out of any new players in the Islanders lineup. “Create some competition if we put some people in. You get an opportunity. We’ve got extra players that we can move around a little bit. If you get an opportunity you want to just make the most of it if you get in there.

“You’re looking to see if you can get something rolling in the right areas.”

The Flyers will make an adjustment to their lineup for Sunday. The big one is the return of Travis Konecny, who was benched on Saturday as a way for Philadelphia head coach Alain Vigneault to send a message to his team.

Brian Elliot will also get the start in net for Philadelphia after Carter Hart was in goal the previous night.

New York Islanders Lineup (Projected)

Anders Lee — Mathew Barzal — Jordan Eberle

Josh Bailey — Brock Nelson — Michael Dal Colle

Kieffer Bellows — Jean-Gabriel Pageau — Oliver Wahlstrom

Matt Martin — Casey Cizikas — Cal Clutterbuck

Adam Pelech — Ryan Pulock

Nick Leddy — Scott Mayfield

Andy Greene — Noah Dobson

Ilya Sorokin

Semyon Varlamov

Philadelphia Flyers Lineup (Projected)

Oskar Lindblom — Kevin Hayes — James van Riemsdyk

Claude Giroux — Nolan Patrick — Jakub Voracek

Joel Farabee — Scott Laughton — Travis Konecny

Michael Raffl — Connor Bunnaman — Nicolas Aube-Kubel

Ivan Provorov — Shayne Gostisbehere

Travis Sanheim — Philippe Myers

Erik Gustafsson — Justin Braun

Brian Elliott

Carter Hart

Game Notes

Jakub Voracek enters tonight’s game with a six-game game scoring streak. He has two goals and eight assists for 10 points in Philadelphia’s first nine games. … Scott Laughton scored his first career overtime goal in the regular season in their 3-2 overtime win over the Islanders. … Shayne Gostisbehere recorded his 200th point in the NHL on an assist on Laughton’s game-winning goal on Saturday. … The Islanders are 17-2-2 in the second game of back-to-backs under Barry Trotz. … Casey Cizikas will tie Lorne Henning (542) at 22nd on the Islanders’ all-time games played list. … Mathew Barzal will take sole possession of eighth place passing J.P. Parise on the Islanders’ all-time consecutive games played list.

How to Watch

Today’s game will air on MSG+ and stream on MSG Go or on NHL.TV outside of the New York market. On the radio dial, the game can be heard on 1050 AM ESPN, 88.7 FM WRHU and 103.9 FM LI News Radio.