Flyers at Islanders
The New York Islanders will be loaded with much-needed confidence when they host the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday in a key Metropolitan Division game. New York is third in the division after a 5-3 victory at first-place Washington on Monday with Philadelphia - a 4-1 winner over Florida on Monday - one point back in fifth, but in wild-card position.
The Flyers on Monday got a boost with the return of Carter Hart, who made 30 saves after missing nine games because of an abdominal strain. Philadelphia is 8-2-1 in its last 11 contests as it begins a three-game road trip that includes a rematch with the Panthers and concludes against red-hot Tampa Bay on Saturday. New York is 3-1-0 in its last four contests and hits the road for a four-game Western Conference trip after this one. The Islanders have won both meetings this season - 4-3 in a shootout at Philadelphia on Nov. 16 and 5-3 on Oct. 27 - with New York's Mathew Barzal and Anthony Beauvillier scoring two goals apiece.
TIME: 7 p.m. ET. TV: NBC Sports Network, NBCS Philadelphia
ABOUT THE FLYERS (31-18-7): James van Riemsdyk on Monday scored for the second straight game, giving him 16 on the season, and added an assist. Claude Giroux has goals in each of the last two contests as well and also had three assists Saturday after going four contests without a point. Brian Elliott, who took over as No. 1 during Hart's absence, is expected in goal Tuesday and is 8-1-7 against New York.
ABOUT THE ISLANDERS (32-16-6): Beauvillier scored twice Monday - giving him 17 this season - and matched the career-high 36 points he recorded in 2017-18, when he scored a personal-best 21 goals. Brock Nelson leads the club with 21 goals but recorded a career-high three assists Monday and shares the team lead in points with Barzal, who had one helper versus Washington. Semyon Varlamov (16-9-4) will be in goal Tuesday as he tries to work his way through a 1-4-0 slump.
OVERTIME
1. Philadelphia D Shayne Gostisbehere on Monday missed his second straight game. He played in Thursday's 5-0 loss to New Jersey after missing 10 contests because of a knee injury.
2. New York LW Josh Bailey on Monday matched a career high with three assists.
3. The Flyers and Islanders entered Monday with identical power-play percentages before Philadelphia was 0-for-5 with the man advantage Monday while New York was 0-for-2.