Philadelphia Flyers vs. New York Islanders: How to Watch, Lineups, Keys to the Game

As the calendar turned to April, every game is an important one for the Philadelphia Flyers (37-26-12). But Friday night's game could very well make or break their playoff hopes for good.

Following back-to-back losses this week, the Flyers go up against the third-place team in the Metropolitan Division, the New York Islanders (42-29-5), who sit just three points ahead of the Flyers. Game time is at 7 PM.

How to Watch

• Time: 7 PM
• Location: UBS Arena in Elmont, NY
• TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia+/NHL Network
• Radio: Rock 104.1 and the Rock 104.1 Free Mobile App

Projected Flyers Lines vs. Islanders

Forwards

71 Tyson Foerster - 46 Trevor Zegras - 74 Owen Tippett
11 Travis Konecny - 22 Christian Dvorak - 94 Porter Martone
52 Denver Barkey - 27 Noah Cates - 39 Matvei Michkov
14 Sean Couturier - 41 Luke Glendening - 91 Carl Grundstrom

Defense

6 Travis Sanheim - 55 Rasmus Ristolainen
8 Cam York - 9 Jamie Drysdale
24 Nick Seeler - 36 Emil Andrae

Goalies

80 Dan Vladar
33 Sam Ersson

Scratches: Alex Bump, Garnet Hathaway, Noah Juulsen, Garrett Wilson

Injury & Roster Updates

• Lineup Updates: The Flyers will not hold a morning skate after playing on Thursday night. Any changes to the Flyers' lineup will be announced closer to game time.
• Starting Goalie: Dan Vladar gets the start for the Flyers. Vladar allowed five goals on 17 shots in a loss to Washington on Tuesday. He is 24-13-7 with a 2.50 GAA and .904 save percentage this season. This is his first appearance against the Islanders this season.
• Injuries
  • Nikita Grebenkin: upper-body injury, out 7-to-10 days
  • Rodrigo Abols: fractured ankle, out at least two months from Jan. 21

Opponent Snapshot: New York Islanders

• Opponent record: 42-29-5
• Special Teams Ranking
  • Power Play: 17.0% (30th)
  • Penalty Kill: 81.0% (10th)
• Who’s hot?: Bo Horvat has two goals and eight points in the last eight games. Brayden Schenn has three goals and six points in the last three games. Calum Ritchie is on a five-game points streak with three goals and six points. Mathew Barzal has seven assists in the last nine games. Matthew Schaefer had 16 points in 16 games in the month of March, including four goals.
• Who’s in net?: Ilya Sorokin gets the start for the Islanders. Sorokin has a 28-20-2 record this season with a 2.59 GAA and .910 save percentage. He allowed three goals on 32 shots in a loss to Buffalo in his last start on Tuesday. Sorokin has a shutout win and a shootout loss to the Flyers this season.
• Injuries: Kyle Palmieri and Pierre Engvall are out for the season with lower-body injuries. Alexander Romanov is out for the remainder of the regular season with a shoulder injury. Tony DeAngelo is out for 1-2 weeks with a lower-body injury. Simon Holmstrom is a game-time decision with an upper-body injury.

Keys to the Game

• Must Win: It doesn't get any bigger than this for the Flyers. Their playoff hopes very much hang in the balance on this game, the final one they have against a Metropolitan Division team within striking distance in the regular season.
• Energy Boost: The Flyers will have to dig deep in a must-win game after expending a lot of energy in Thursday's loss to Detroit.
• Limit the Mistakes: The last two losses have been all about timely mistakes and watching the opposition feed off them. The Islanders can certain make teams pay for subtle miscues, so the Flyers will need to limit those and clean up their game.

By the Numbers

• The Flyers are 19-21-8 when allowing the first goal of the game. The Islanders are 14-18-2 when the opponent scores first.
• The Flyers are 13-9-2 in back-to-back games with a 6-5-1 record in the second half of back-to-backs. The Islanders are 14-13-1 in back-to-backs with a 5-9-0 record in the first half.
• The Islanders have nine shutout wins this season. The Flyers are one of five teams in the NHL without a shutout win this season. The Flyers have been shut out three times, including against the Islanders in their last meeting in January.

Quotable

• "Every game's a must-win at this point. That's how we're looking at tomorrow. Another good team we're playing against, but this locker room in here, we all believe we're better than any opponent we're playing right now. Tough to get the loss, but we have all the confidence in the world that we're going to keep playing good." - Travis Konecny on the matchup against the Islanders

X-Factors

• Porter Martone: Martone's second NHL game was even better than his debut. In addition to his first NHL point, an assist on Travis Konecny's goal, Martone had nine shots on goal. There's clearly no fear to put the puck on net, and at some point soon, he'll have his first NHL goal.
• Matthew Schaefer: The first overall pick ahead of Martone in the 2025 NHL Draft, Schaefer is putting the finishing touches on a Calder Trophy-winning season. He's been a catalyst for the Islanders, a true game-changer in every sense, but notably for his offensive abilities. The 18-year-old has 22 goals and 57 points in his rookie season.

Kevin Durso is Flyers insider for 97.3 ESPN. Follow him on social media @Kevin_Durso.

[gallery gallerytitle="Philadelphia Flyers Uniforms Through The Years" galleryid="399:364410"]