Flyers at Islanders
With four victories in their last five games, the New York Islanders have guaranteed themselves their coveted first-place position in the Metropolitan Division heading into the upcoming All-Star break. The Islanders can pad their three-point lead when they vie for their third straight victory over visiting Philadelphia Flyers on Monday afternoon. Captain John Tavares collected a goal and an assist, but fellow All-Star Jaroslav Halak yielded six goals on 33 shots in New York's 6-4 setback to Montreal on Saturday.
The pair enjoyed much better performances in the first meeting with Philadelphia, as Tavares scored in the shootout and Halak made 21 saves in a 1-0 victory on Nov. 24. Steve Mason, who turned aside a season-best 46 shots in a losing effort in that contest, still is nursing a knee injury. Former Islanders defenseman Mark Streit scored to lift the sputtering Flyers to a 4-3 triumph over Buffalo on Saturday.
TV: 1 p.m. ET, NHLN, RSN, TCN (Philadelphia), MSG Plus (New York)
ABOUT THE FLYERS (18-21-7): Kimmo Timonen's blood clots have cleared from his lungs but not his legs, resulting in the veteran defenseman being viewed as questionable to resume his NHL career. "The biggest thing I want to know is risk - is there a risk? I'm not putting him at risk," general manager Ron Hextall told the Philadelphia Inquirer. "And I've talked to Kimmo, and I know he's not putting himself at risk." While the Flyers have "guarded optimism" in regard to the 39-year-old Finn, their patchwork defense has been responsible for allowing opponents to average 2.87 goals per contest.
ABOUT THE ISLANDERS (30-14-1): Kyle Okposo scored and set up a goal versus the Canadiens and has six tallies in his last four contests. Josh Bailey has also heated up, following up a three-assist performance in a 6-3 victory over second-place Pittsburgh on Friday by setting up two more goals the following night. The offensive production certainly has been welcome as the 26-year-old had just eight assists in his first 31 contests of the season.
OVERTIME
1. New York C Frans Nielsen also scored in the shootout in the teams' first meeting and had an assist on Saturday to extend his point streak to three games.
2. Philadelphia has yielded seven power-play goals in its last six contests.
3. The Islanders are 14-2-0 against Metropolitan rivals.