The Philadelphia Flyers will head to UBS Arena as they take on the New York Islanders for the third time this season. The Flyers are 0-1-1 against New York this year and are looking to finally right the ship after losing last night’s 3-1 heartbreaker at home to Dallas. The loss was Philadelphia’s 12th in a row, which tied the longest winless streak in franchise history.
In the midst of their woes, there are two occasions to celebrate tonight. Defenseman Keith Yandle will play in his 965th consecutive NHL contest, which will see him break Doug Jarvis’ ironman record for the longest games played streak in league history. Yandle has not missed a game in his career since March 22nd, 2009 when he was still a member of the then-Phoenix Coyotes.
On another note, forward Linus Sandin will be making his NHL debut. The 25 year-old Sandin signed his entry-level contract as a free agent with the Flyers on April 29th, 2020 and played in 26 games with the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms in 2020-21. He signed a one-year extension on June 14th, 2021 and has played in 13 more games for the Phantoms this year. In 39 career contests with the Phantoms, he has scored 11 goals and 6 assists for 17 points. Sandin will wear #36 for Philadelphia tonight.
The Flyers also made a new hire today. John Torchetti will be an assistant coach on Mike Yeo’s staff for the remainder of the 2021-22 season alongside Darryl Williams and Nick Schultz. Torchetti began coaching in the NHL in 1999 as an assistant in Tampa Bay, and has also been on various staffs in Florida, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, Minnesota, and Detroit. He was an associate coach for the disgraced 2010 Blackhawks Stanley Cup team, though he was one of the people Kyle Beach spoke highly of and thanked for his support when the awful Brad Aldrich situation came to light. Torchetti will not be behind the bench tonight for Philadelphia.
PHI Record: 13-21-8, 34 pts, 8th in Metropolitan
NYI Record: 14-14-6, 34 pts, 7th in Metropolitan
When: 7:30pm ET
Where: UBS Arena, Elmont, NY
PHI Goalie: Martin Jones (6-7-2, .902 SV%, 3.52 GAA, 0 SO)
NYI Goalie: Ilya Sorokin (11-7-5, .928 SV%, 2.26 GAA, 4 SO)
PHI Projected Lineup
#25 James van Riemsdyk – #28 Claude Giroux – #89 Cam Atkinson
#23 Oskar Lindblom – #21 Scott Laughton – #11 Travis Konecny
#71 Max Willman – #48 Morgan Frost – #20 Gerry Mayhew
#36 Linus Sandin – #82 Connor Bunnaman – #17 Zack MacEwen
#9 Ivan Provorov – #61 Justin Braun
#6 Travis Sanheim – #70 Rasmus Ristolainen
#3 Keith Yandle – #45 Cam York
#35 Martin Jones
#79 Carter Hart
NYI Projected Lineup
#20 Kieffer Bellows – #13 Mathew Barzal – #12 Josh Bailey
#27 Anders Lee – #29 Brock Nelson – #18 Anthony Beauvillier
#11 Zach Parise – #44 Jean-Gabriel Pageau – #26 Oliver Wahlstrom
#17 Matt Martin – #53 Casey Cizikas – #15 Cal Clutterbuck
#3 Adam Pelech – #24 Scott Mayfield
#33 Zdeno Chara – #8 Noah Dobson
#2 Robin Salo – #4 Andy Greene
#30 Ilya Sorokin
#40 Semyon Varlamov
Last Game PHI: 1/24/22, 3-1 L vs Dallas
Last Game NYI: 1/22/22, 3-1 L vs Toronto
News and Notes:
– The Flyers are looking for their first road win against the Islanders since March 18th, 2021, and tonight would be their first victory in the last eight matchups against the Islanders as well.
– This is the 284th regular-season matchup between the two teams since the Islanders began play in 1972. The Flyers own a 142-97-26-18 advantage in the all-time series against the Islanders.
– The Flyers’ third line of Max Willman-Morgan Frost-Gerry Mayhew played a fantastic game last night. They were physical, they generated some good scoring chances, and seemed to be buzzing all game. Look for them to have a repeat performance against this pesky Islanders club.
– Martin Jones is projected to be in net and will be looking for his first win since December 29th in Seattle. Jones’ last outing was one to forget, as he let up four goals on eight shots in the first period of Philadelphia’s 6-3 loss in Buffalo on Saturday.
Broadcast Info: TV – NBC Sports Philadelphia, ESPN+, Radio – 97.5 The Fanatic
Injuries:
PHI – Patrick Brown (MCL), Sean Couturier (upper-body), Kevin Hayes (adductor), Nate Thompson (shoulder), Wade Allison (MCL), Ryan Ellis (lower-body), Joel Farabee (upper-body), Derick Brassard (hip)
NYI – Ryan Pulock (lower-body), Kyle Palmieri (lower-body)
