Gameday Preview: Flyers vs. Islanders

In the fourth 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 on Sunday night.

The Islanders lead the series two games to one. The game will be nationally televised on NBC.

The Flyers are the designated road team for Game 4. 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.

GAME 3: The third game of the series started out well for the Flyers, who registered five of the night's first six shots on goal, and grabbed an early 1-0 lead on a seeing-eye goal through traffic by Tyler Pitlick (2nd) of the playoffs. Shortly thereafter, the Islanders took over the game, and road it more or less the rest of the way.

Matt Martin tied the game and Leo Komarov put New York ahead in the waning seconds of the second period. Anders Lee extended the lead to 3-1 with an early third period power play goal.

Carter Hart stopped 26 of 29 shots in a losing cause. Semyon Varlamov denied 26 of 27 Flyers shots.


Flyers Outlook

The Flyers made one lineup change in Game 3, scratching Michael Raffl and dressing Scott Laughton. Laughton was moved back from left wing to center, with James van Riemsdyk and Tyler Pitlick on his wings. That moved worked out on Saturday, as the trio was the Flyers' most effective line. That was especially true in the first period.

Beyond that, not much went right for the Flyers after their early momentum. The Sean Couturier and Kevin Hayes lines, after stepping up in Game 2 on Wednesday, both struggled as the Islanders took over the game. As a team, killer turnovers, including multi-turnover sequences, directly played into the first and second Islanders goals.

The Flyers didn't have their feet moving, lost most of the battles and got swarmed by New York's forecheck. Finally, neutral zone and own-zone turnovers by the Flyers and a Mathew Barzal pass-out to a wide open Martin at the doorstep produced a 1-1 tie game at 7:12 as Hart got most of Barzal's shot but not quite enough.

Philadelphia was thoroughly outplayed in the second period but could still see their way to intermission tied at 1-1. That is, until bad turnover by Ivan Provorov over the middle was barely kept in onside. Then, moments later, Matt Niskanen was taken off the puck behind the net. Provorov attempted to block Komarov's backhand shot in front but it beat Hart with 5.1 seconds left in the second period. Once again, Hart got a piece of the puck but not enough.

Early in the third period, a stick slashing penalty on Robert Hägg created a must-kill 4-on-5. Instead, Lee set up in his office near the net and directed a Jordan Eberle feed off the inside of Hart's stick and into the net to put the Islanders ahead by two goals. Hart mis-angled his stick and actually deflected the puck into his own net.

The Flyers generated very little pressure on Varlamov until late in the game. Finally, they had a point-blank scoring chance for Joel Farabee and a four-shot power play (6-on-4 with Hart pulled) that produced two scrambles in close to the net but no goal.

Islanders Outlook

The Islanders made one lineup change for Game 3. Ross Johnston, who was effective in Game 1 but more of a liability than an asset in Game 2, was scratched. Derick Brassard dressed for the first time in the series.

The Islanders' have used their size advantage and heavy forechecking pressure to their benefit in the series. All four of their forward lines have played well, and the teamwide commitment to shot-blocking and gap control has been evident throughout. The Flyers found some success in the first and early second period of Game 2 by using high-flips and neutral zone retrieval pressure to exit the defensive zone and generate some counterattack opportunities. That dried up on the Flyers as Game 3 progressed.

Overall, the Islanders have been the better team in six of the nine regulation periods played in the series to date: the first and third periods of Game 1, the second and third periods of Game 2, and the second to mid-third periods of Game 3.

Varlamov, pulled in the first period of Game 2 after giving up three goals (two short-siders) on 10 shots, really was not forced to make many difficult saves in Saturday's game. His toughest tests came late in the game when the Flyers were desperately pressing to get back within a goal.

The Islanders have been without top-pairing defenseman Johnny Boychuk for all but one playoff game to date. With the way they've been playing, there is not a need to rush him back into the lineup. On Sunday night, they have a chance to put a three games to one stranglehold on the series.


PROJECTED LINEUPS (primary Game 3 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 - 21 Scott Laughton - 18 Tyler Pitlick
38 Derek Grant - 44 Nate Thompson - 62 Nicolas Aube-Kubel

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

37 Brian Elliott
[79 Carter Hart]

ISLANDERS
27 Anders Lee - 13 Mathew Barzal - 7 Jordan Eberle
18 Anthony Beauvillier - 29 Brock Nelson - 12 Josh Bailey
10 Derick Brassard - 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

1 Thomas Greiss
[40 Semyon Varlamov]


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 -- Islanders 3 - Flyers 1
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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