Gameday Preview: Flyers vs. Islanders

In the third game of their Eastern Conference Semifinal series, Alain Vigneault's Philadelphia will take on Barry Trotz's New York Islanders at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. The series is current tied at one game apiece.

Game time is 7:00 p.m. ET. The game will be nationally televised on NBCSN.

The Flyers are the designated road team for Game 3. The Islanders will have last line change.

Series Progression

GAME 1: In Game 1 of this series, the Islanders dominated the first period and took a 1-0 lead to intermission. It easy could have been 4-0 or 4-1 but for the stellar play of Carter Hart. Andy Greene scored a point shot goal at 6:06 through layers of screening traffic for the period's only goal. On Philadelphia's best chance, Kevin Hayes was unable to score on a breakaway.

The tide turned in the second period. The Flyers dominated territorial possession, and generated a couple high quality looks at the net as well as several Grade B chances. Many of the better chances were blocked by the Islanders or Semyon Varlamov was in perfect position to stop. Overall, though, the Flyers largely had to settle for low-to-high plays with point shot attempts; many of which were blocked or there was insufficient traffic to cause Varlamov trouble. Shots were 15-7 in the Flyers favor, but they still trailed, 1-0.

A lost 2-on-2 battle behind the net by Travis Sanheim and Phil Myers and a rare attention-to-detail lapse by a struggling Sean Couturier (who abandoned protecting the front of the net with both D behind the net, and tried to join them) left J-G Pageau wide open in point blank range to take a pass-out from Leo Komarov. From the dead slot, Pageau quickly finished the play for a 2-0 lead at 2:54 of the third period.

Now the Flyers were in dire straights, as the Islanders continued to take away the coveted areas below and between the dots and to block Philadelphia shot attempts. Another killer mistake followed on an attempted forecheck. Joel Farabee got on the wrong side of the puck as Jordan Eberle slipped past him. That started a 3-on-2 rush for the Islanders. Matt Niskanen came over from his right defense position to the left side, trying to pressure puck carrier Matthew Barzal. Instead, Barzal made a gorgeous pass to a wide open Anders Lee, who had lots of net open with Hart having been positioned to play a shot by Barzal. Lee made no mistake and scored at 8:50.

In desperation, Vigneault pulled Hart very, very early for a 6-on-5 attack and it blew up in his face as Devon Toews scored a long-distance empty net goal to make it 4-0 at 12:21. The rest of the game was academic at that point.

Special teams were not a factor in Game 1. The Islanders were unable to do anything with a late first-period power play that carried over into the second. Philly got momentum from the emphatic kill. The Flyers had a latter third period power play, trailing 4-0, and spun their wheels.

Varlamov went on to record a 29-save shutout. Hart stopped 25 of 28 shots.

GAME 2: The Philadelphia Flyers saw a three-goal lead slip away before rescuing a 4-3 win in overtime against the New York Islanders in Game 2 of their Second Round series at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Wednesday afternoon. Phil Myers ended the game with a point shot goal at 2:40 of OT.

A pair of Kevin Hayes goals off the rush staked the Flyers to an early 2-0 lead. Sean Couturier then ended his postseason-long scoring drought with another goal off the rush, prompting a goalie change for the Islanders. Anders Lee scored a power play tip-in goal midway through the second period, cutting New York's deficit to 3-1. Anthony Beavillier made it 3-2 midway through the third period. Then an attempted exit pass from Travis Sanheim became a turnover and J-G Pageau tied the game before Myers knotted the series at 2:40 of overtime.

Carter Hart stopped 31 of 33 shots to earn the win.

Semyon Varlamov lasted just 15:09 from the opening faceoff, getting beaten three times on 10 shots. Thomas Greiss relieved him and stopped 20 of 21 shots. Greiss wasn't tested much untl overtime.

Two saves on the same shift by Hart on Anthony Beauvillier loomed big early for the Flyers. Both of Hayes' first period goals were scored high to the short-side from the left circle; one from above the dot, the other from the bottom of the circle. Everything was going the Islanders' way for the first few shifts of the game. The Flyers were hemmed in and Hart was tested right off the bat.

Then Claude Giroux won a defensive zone faceoff. Travis Konecny made a good pass to Hayes and the Flyers' second-line center beat Varlamov short-side high from the top of the left circle at 1:57. The goal was a huge lift for the Flyers, and they got better and better as the opening period progressed to build a three-goal lead.

The latter goal, scored at 9:43, started with a high flip out of the defensive zone by Phil Myers, and Joel Farabee poking the puck to Farabee in the neutral zone. Myers also made a good stick-on-puck defensive play earlier in the period.

Coming off a performance in Game 1 that was far below his usual standards, Couturier came out like gangbusters in Game 2. First, off an Islanders turnover, he attacked the net, and created the game's first power play. Later, he finally scored his long-awaited first goal of the playoffs, beating Nick Leddy, going wide on Varlamov and scoring from the left side.

Giroux, meanwhile, had a hand in the first and third Flyers first-period goals: winning the faceoff that started the first Hayes goal sequence and taking a defenseman with him to create room for Hayes, and then making a perfect pass to Couturier (after an initial breakout pass from Travis Sanheim) on the third goal of the first period.

First period shots were 11-7 in the Flyers' favor.

As with the second Hayes goal, the Flyers found success by using the high flip to exit the D zone at the start of the middle period. Ross Johnston took a silly penalty on a sequence where he gave Hart a snow shower and the cross-checked Phil Myers. Philly did not capitalize on it, and it was a lift for the Islanders. Matt Niskanen later rocked Johnston with a big hit.

Play was fairly even until the latter half of the period, which the Islanders controlled on the forecheck. Hart had no chance on an Anders Lee re-direct of a Mathew Barzal feed on the power play at 11:45 after an automatic delay of game penalty on Jakub Voracek.

Immediately after the goal, Hart had to make an outstanding save on Casey Cizikas. Hart then made a save on a left circle shot by Beauvillier after a turnover by Robert Hagg.

With 36 seconds left in the second period, Couturier was penalized for a stick slash on Barzal -- an accurate call but one that came after numerous stick slashes by both teams had been let go all game. The Flyers survived the remaining second period time but New York took 1:24 of carryover time into the third period.

Philadelphia opened the third period with a strong kill of the remaining Couturier penalty time. The Islanders took some chances on a very aggressive forecheck. Finally, at 11:11, Beauvillier scored on a give-and-go with Josh Bailey, beating Hart under the arm to the near side. Hart subsequently had to make a couple of close-range saves to prevent a tying goal. That only lasted until the 17:51 mark.

An attempted Sanheim breakout pass to Sean Couturier went off his skate and was held by Pelech. Then Pageau scored from the center slot. The Flyers challenged the goal for an offside on Brock Nelson. The goal was upheld on replay, and the Flyers were penalized for delay of game. The Islanders were unable to score on the power play and the game went to OT. Third period shots were 15-8 in New York's favor.

The Flyers came out attacking in OT and had three of the four shots. Myers' right point shot was tipped by New York's Lee and skittered into the net at 2:40 of the extra frame. Couturier, who had a great scoring chance in close moments earlier, got the lone assist. The eventual goal started with a faceoff win by Giroux.

Flyers Outlook

Hayes and Couturier answered the bell immediately for the Flyers in Game 3. So did Giroux, who was in thick of three of the four Flyers' goals, although he came away with only one assist and is still looking for his first goal of the playoffs.

After they chased Varlamov from the game, the team did not exactly lay back but they also didn't generate many tough chances on Greiss. The game still seemed well in hand until the Islanders got the score to 3-2. That one was the only leaky goal Hart allowed among the three that got by him. The other two were not on him.

James van Riemsdyk re-entered the Flyers' lineup in Game 2. Somewhat surprisingly, Scott Laughton -- who has been largely scuffling since the round robin but was such a reliable player all season and red hot offensively in the round robin -- was a healthy scratch.

Robert Hagg returned to the lineup in Game 2. Shayne Gostisbehere was scratched.

Thursday's game will be the Flyers' 6th in 10 nights. Vigneault has a decision to make on whether to give Brian Elliott a start or give Hart the nod again. Whether coincidentally or not, Game 5 of the Montreal series was just the second time in Hart's young NHL career that he started three games in four nights, and he struggled through the middle part of that particular game.

Islanders Outlook

Varlamov probably should have had at least one of the two Hayes goals. Assuming he starts Game 3 -- there's no reason he shouldn't, as he's otherwise been excellent in these playoffs -- the Flyers should test him high to the short side and see how he responds.

The Islanders made no lineup changes in Game 2. Might there be a change in Game 3? Additionally, through Game 2, Johnny Boychuk has yet to return to the lineup. When he returns, that's a big addition for New York.

The Islanders went 1-for-3 on the power play in Game 2. The Flyers were 0-for-2.

PROJECTED LINEUPS (primary Game 2 lines, subject to change)

FLYERS
 
28 Claude Giroux- 14 Sean Couturier - 93 Jake Voracek
49 Joel Farabee - 13 Kevin Hayes - 11 Travis Konecny
25 James van Riemsdyk - 38 Derek Grant - 62 Nicolas Aube-Kubel
12 Michael Raffl - 44 Nate Thompson - 18 Tyler Pitlick

9 Ivan Provorov - 15 Matt Niskanen
6 Travis Sanheim - 5 Phil Myers
8 Robert Hagg - 61 Justin Braun

79 Carter Hart
[37 Brian Elliott]

ISLANDERS
27 Anders Lee - 13 Mathew Barzal - 7 Jordan Eberle
18 Anthony Beauvillier - 29 Brock Nelson - 12 Josh Bailey
32 Ross Johnston - 44 Jean-Gabriel Pageau - 47 Leo Komarov
17 Matt Martin - 53 Casey Cizikas - 15 Cal Clutterbuck

3 Adam Pelech - 6 Ryan Pulock
25 Devon Toews - 24 Scott Mayfield
2 Nick Leddy - 4 Andy Greene
55 Johnny Boychuk ???

40 Semyon Varlamov
[1 Thomas Greiss]


Comparative Team Stats (League ranking, via NHL.com and Natural Stat Trick)

GPG: PHI 3.29 (7th), NYI 2.78 (22nd)
GAA: PHI 2.77(T-7th), NYI 2.79 (9th)
5-on-5: PHI +18 (153-135), NYI -10 (121-131)
Power Play: PHI 20.8% (14th), NYI 17.3% (T-24th)
Penalty Kill: PHI 81.8% (11th), NYI  80.7% (15th)
Special Teams Index: PHI 102.6, NYI 98.0
SHG: PHI 8 (T-6th), NYI 6 (T-10th)
SHGA: PHI 6 (T-14th), NYI 5 (T-7th)
Average Shots: PHI 31.4 (16th), NYI 29.6 (28th)
Shots Against: PHI 28.7 (1st), NYI 31.2 (T-13th)
Corsi: PHI 51.02% (9th), NYI 46.45% (29th)
Scoring chances: PHI 50.91% (13th), NYI 47.91% (15th)
High-danger chances: PHI 50.83% (12th), NYI 50.08% (18th)
Expected goal differential: PHI 50.64 (14th), NYI 48.84% (20th)
Faceoffs: PHI 54.6% (1st), NYI 49.9% (T-17th)
Credited Hits/60: PHI 21.4 (17th), NYI 27.7 (1st)
Blocked Shots/60: PHI 12.02 (28th), NYI 16.61 (1st)
Giveaways/60: PHI 8.93 (13th), NYI 12.96 (31st)
Takeways/60:  PHI 6.29 (24th), NYI 7.02 (18th)

Series Schedule

Mon, Aug 24 -- Islanders 4 - Flyers 0
Wed,  Aug 26 -- Flyers 4 - Islanders 3 (OT)
Sat, Aug. 29 -- 7 p.m. NBCSN
Sun, Aug. 30 -- 8 p.m. NBC
Tue, Sept. 1 -- 7 p.m. NBCSN
*Thu, Sept. 3: TBD
*Sat, Sept. 5: TBD

* If necessary

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