Flyers-Islanders: Game 57 Preview

The Flyers picked up a 4-1 win on home ice against the Florida Panthers to keep pace in the playoff race. Just as they finished off their win, the New York Islanders did the same against Washington, remaining one point ahead of the Flyers in the standings.

That sets the stage for Tuesday's game between the two teams. This is the third meeting between the two teams this season, as the Flyers look to leap-frog over the Islanders in the standings.

Game time is 7 p.m.

Team Leaders

Philadelphia Flyers	GP	G	A	P	New York Islanders	GP	G	A	P
Sean Couturier	56	15	34	49	Brock Nelson	54	21	24	45
Travis Konecny	53	18	28	46	Mathew Barzal	54	18	27	45
Jake Voracek	56	11	32	43	Anthony Beauvillier	54	17	19	36
Claude Giroux	56	15	24	39	Josh Bailey	54	11	24	35
James van Riemsdyk	56	16	17	33	Anders Lee	54	17	15	32

Player to Watch
93 Jake Voracek	13 Mathew Barzal
Last 5 Games: 0 G, 4 A, 4 P, +5	Last 5 Games: 1 G, 2 A, 3 P, -1

Jake Voracek has not scored in the last five games, but has points in four assists in that time. His energy level has been higher and he's certainly be active around the puck. The Flyers will need that energy in this game to keep things rolling.

Mathew Barzal has not been on the scoresheet much lately, but he remains a constant threat to turn a game upside down in an instant with his speed and skill.

Projected Goalie Matchup
37 Brian Elliott	40 Semyon Varlamov
28 GP, 14-6-4, 2.86 GAA, .901 SV%	33 GP, 16-9-4, 2.58 GAA, .915 SV%

Brian Elliott will be back in goal for the Flyers on Tuesday night. Elliott played another strong game against the Capitals on Saturday, making 25 saves in the win. Elliott has a 5-1-1 record in his last seven starts.

Semyon Varlamov is back in goal as part of the Islanders regular rotation. Varlamov took the loss on Saturday to the Tampa Bay Lightning, allowing two goals on 29 shots. Varlamov has just a 2-6-1 record in nine games since Jan. 2.

Flyers Projected Lineup

Injuries: Joel Farabee (illness, day-to-day), Nolan Patrick (migrane disorder, out indefinitely), Oskar Lindblom (Ewing's sarcoma, out for season)

Scratches: Shayne Gostisbehere

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
28 Claude Giroux	14 Sean Couturier	93 Jake Voracek
21 Scott Laughton	13 Kevin Hayes	11 Travis Konecny
25 James van Riemsdyk	48 Morgan Frost	18 Tyler Pitlick
12 Michael Raffl	82 Connor Bunnaman	62 Nicolas Aube-Kubel
Defense
9 Ivan Provorov	15 Matt Niskanen
6 Travis Sanheim	5 Phil Myers
8 Robert Hagg	61 Justin Braun
Goalie
37 Brian Elliott	79 Carter Hart

Lineup Notes

Joel Farabee seems likely to return to action on Tuesday night, but that won't be officially known until warmups. Who Farabee replaces if he is back in also remains to be seen until closer to game time.

Islanders Projected Lineup

Injuries: Adam Pelech, Cal Clutterbuck

Scratches: Kieffer Bellows, Tom Kuhnackl, Sebastian Aho

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
27 Anders Lee	13 Mathew Barzal	7 Jordan Eberle
18 Anthony Beauvillier	29 Brock Nelson	12 Josh Bailey
32 Ross Johnston	10 Derick Brassard	28 Michael Dal Colle
17 Matt Martin	53 Casey Cizikas	47 Leo Komarov
Defense
25 Devon Toews	6 Ryan Pulock
2 Nick Leddy	55 Johnny Boychuk
8 Noah Dobson	24 Scott Mayfield
Goalie
40 Semyon Varlamov	1 Thomas Greiss

Game Notes

Power Play: Flyers (T-15th), Islanders (T-15th)
Penalty Kill: Flyers (T-13th), Islanders (24th)
Recent History vs. Islanders
- Oct. 27, 2019 - Islanders 5, Flyers 3 (at NYI)
- Nov. 16, 2019 - Islanders 4, Flyers 3 (F/SO) (at PHI)
Flyers Leaders vs. Islanders
- Claude Giroux - 51 GP, 18 G, 36 A, 54 P
- Jake Voracek - 41 GP, 6 G, 27 A, 33 P
- Sean Couturier - 36 GP, 9 G, 18 A, 27 P
- James van Riemsdyk - 36 GP, 11 G, 16 A, 27 P
- Brian Elliott - 18 GP, 8-1-7, 2.56 GAA, .915 SV%
Milestone Watch
- Claude Giroux needs two power-play assists to pass Bobby Clarke for first on the Flyers all-time list.

Where to Watch
TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Radio: 93.3 WMMR

Kevin Durso is Flyers insider for 97.3 ESPN and Flyers editor for SportsTalkPhilly.com. Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Durso.