Game Preview: Islanders at Flyers

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (12-13-6) VS PHILADELPHIA FLYERS (13-18-7)7:00 PM | WELLS FARGO CENTER WATCH: ESPN+ | HuluLISTEN: 88.7FM| 103.9FM | 1050AM
The New York Islanders take on the Philadelphia Flyers for the second leg of their home-and-home, back-to-back set on Tuesday night at Wells Fargo Center.

The Islanders were victorious in the first half of their pair of games against the Metro Division rivals as they beat the Flyers 4-1 on Monday night. Brock Nelson, Casey Cizikas, Anthony Beauvillier and Matt Martin (empty net) scored while Ilya Sorokin made 26 saves on 27 shots.
Every point matters as the Islanders look to dig themselves out of last place in the Metro Division (30 points) and the win over the Flyers (33 points) gained them some valuable ground. With the loss, Philadelphia has now lost eight-straight games (0-6-2). Travis Konecny scored the sole goal for the Flyers, while Martin Jones made 27 saves on 30 shots.
For the Islanders, the win was a morale boost as it felt like a full-team effort, boosted by all four lines rolling, stingy defense and strong goaltending. It was one the team looks to build on and hopes to continue capitalizing as they look to claim another two points over Philadelphia on Tuesday.
"It felt like everything was more crisp," Nelson said. 'I thought we were decisive with the puck. A couple of times, we mismanaged it and they had some opportunities and Sorokin bailed us out. There were a lot of positives, we had more energy and were on the attack too."

ISLANDERS NOTES:

• Ilya Sorokin made his 22nd start of the season and improved his record to 10-7-5. The Russian netminder has a 2.37 GAA, .927 SV% and three shutouts. In seven-career games against the Flyers, Sorokin has a 6-0-1 record. Sorokin has also won his last three games. Semyon Varlamov is likely to finish off the back-to-back set. Varlamov is 2-1-0 in his last three games, allowing just one goal in each of those outings.
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• Brock Nelson scored his team-leading 11th goal of the season. The veteran center also dished out an assist and now has 15 points (11G, 4A) through 22 games.
• Both Casey Cizikas and Matt Martin scored their first goals of the season. Cizikas has two points (1G, 1A) through 25 games. Martin has two points (1G, 1A) through 23 games this season.
• Anthony Beauvillier scored his sixth goal of the season and now has three goals in his last six games. Beauvillier has totaled 11 points (6G, 5A) through 28 games.
• Robin Salo recorded his second-career assist on Cizikas' goal.

• Head Coach Barry Trotz returned to the bench after missing three games, two due to being placed in COVID-19 protocols on Jan. 11 and one for personal reasons on Jan. 1.
• Zdeno Chara surpassed Scott Stevens for the second-most games (1,636) played by a defenseman in NHL history and is on pace to become the all-time leader later this season.
• The Islanders' penalty kill was 4-for-4 against the Flyers' power play and is now 6-for-6 in the last two games and 10-for-11 in the past three games. In the NHL, the Islanders' PK ranks 10th in the NHL 82.8%.
• The Islanders are 10-4-4 when scoring first and are 2-9-2 when allowing the opening goal.
• The Islanders are 6-1-1 in their last eight games at UBS Arena.

Video: Islanders win behind Sorokin's 26-save effort

FLYERS NOTES:

• The Flyers winless streak reached eight games on Monday night (0-6-2), marking the second such streak for Philadelphia this season. The Flyers had a 10-game winless streak (0-8-2) from Nov. 18 to Dec. 8.
• Travis Konecny's goal on Monday was the 100th of his NHL career. Konecny has 21 points (6G, 15A) in 36 games this season, third on the Flyers.
• Carter Hart is expected to start in goal for the Flyers on the second night of the back-to-back. Hart is 7-12-4 this season with a 2.94 GAA, a .911 SV% and one shutout this season. Hart is 2-3-2 with a 3.61 GAA and an .868 SV% against the Islanders in his career. Hart has lost four-straight games in regulation and is 0-4-1 in his last five games.
• Ivan Provorov (25:14) and Travis Sanheim (25:04) each skated over 25 minutes during Monday's game, while defenseman Cam York (20:56) also logged over 20 minutes. Provorov leads the Flyers with 24:37 TOI/GP, 16th overall in the NHL.
• The Flyers are 6-8-3 at Wells Fargo Center this season.
• Rasmus Ristolainen returned to the Flyers lineup on Monday after missing two games in COVID-19 protocol, skating 15:02 with a team-high five hits and a minus-two rating.